


lost in the fire

by sxftmelody



Category: LOONA (Korea Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Avatar & Benders Setting, F/F, no one dies
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-30
Updated: 2019-01-26
Packaged: 2019-09-30 23:24:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 24,912
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17233121
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sxftmelody/pseuds/sxftmelody
Summary: Avatar Jinsol must go undercover in the Fire Nation in order to assassinate the Fire Lord.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> i've only just recently watched (and finished) avatar: the last airbender, so ofc... i'm gonna need to write a fic based on it :]
> 
> thank you to everyone who's read this for me whilst i was writing and provided feedback (especially liz! <3)

Jinsol sits cross-legged on the beach, eyes closed and mind at rest. She listens to the waves crashing onto the sand and peeks an eye open when she hears a rustle in the trees behind her.

 

She turns just in time to see a large serpent seemingly slithering across the ground (but is actually floating a few inches above it).

 

A wide smile grows on Jinsol’s lips, “Ida!” she exclaims gleefully.

 

She gets up from her meditating position, opening her arms, “Where have you been, girl?”

 

The serpent lets out a small gruff, sliding its large face up against Jinsol’s body. Jinsol wraps her arms tightly around the creature, teetering her weight between her two feet happily. 

 

Jinsol moves and hops onto the back of Ida’s body, “Want to go for a ride?”

 

Ida lets out another grunt, and Jinsol rolls her eyes.

 

“Oh,  _ please _ ! The only reason people come to check on us is to make sure we’re not dead!” Jinsol laughs, “Just one ride! We can just go underwater if you don’t want to fly so bad.”

 

Another grunt.

 

“You’re not seriously scared of those  _ chumps _ , are you?” Jinsol pats Ida on the side twice, “I know you’re just as bored as I am… so, let’s go!”

 

Ida finally starts moving, and Jinsol lets out a victory whoop. 

 

The serpent moves towards the ocean and Jinsol bends an air bubble around her body as they fully descent into the water. Ida may be able to breathe underwater, but Jinsol cannot.

 

A few minutes into their small journey, Jinsol gasps.

 

“Look at the size of those turtles!” she says with wide, childlike eyes. She points to the creatures, though she knows that Ida could not possibly give a care in the world, and feels her heart hammer against her chest, “They’re beautiful…” she whispers.

 

Ida slows to a stop and Jinsol furrows her eyes.

 

“Ida? What’s wrong?”

 

Ida’s head looks around for a couple seconds, and Jinsol looks around, too. 

 

She can’t see what’s gotten Ida to stop so suddenly.

 

However, she  _ feels  _ it a second later:

 

It’s a rumble…  _ no _ —a  _ vibration _ .

 

“Oh, crap,” Jinsol murmurs, looking around and trying to spot the boat that she can sense. She leans down close to Ida’s head, patting her once, “back to land, girl.”

 

Ida turns swiftly and heads back towards the island that Jinsol calls home.

 

-

 

Jinsol greets the boat at the beach as it lands. Soldiers from the Water Tribe and Earth Kingdom exit the large boat, heading towards the Avatar and her beast with an arrogant sense of authority.

 

“Avatar Jinsol,” one of the soldier greets with a nod of his head.

 

“Hi…” Jinsol replies with a friendly smile, “What’s with the visit? Is it my birthday or something?” 

 

(Jinsol doesn’t know when her birthday is.)

 

“We’re bringing you back to the mainland,” the soldier states, “as per the Earth King’s orders.”

 

Jinsol’s eyes widen in shock, “The mainland?” she questions, “I’ve… I’ve never been to the mainland.”

 

“There’s a first time for everything, then,” the soldier replies, “please get on the boat.”

 

“What about Ida?” Jinsol rests a hand on the serpent’s scaly skin, “Can I bring her?”

 

The soldier nods, “You’ll need her.”

 

“I’ll need her?” Jinsol frowns, “For what?”

 

“The Earth King will explain. For now, we must hurry back,” the soldier gestures for Jinsol to get on the boat, “let us depart.”

 

“O—Okay,” Jinsol nods, walking forward. Ida doesn’t follow—she actually tries to keep Jinsol from leaving by swinging her tail around and pulling her back.

 

Jinsol gasps, looking back at Ida with concern in her eyes, “Ida? Come on, girl.”

 

She tries to ease the creature’s obvious discomfort by repeatedly moving her hand against Ida’s skin. Ida just keeps grunting and letting out airy breaths, but she stays alongside Jinsol as they walk onboard. 

 

The soldiers stay clear of her.

 

After she’s on the boat and the rest of the soldiers get on, they take off for the mainland.

 

Jinsol feels uncomfortable as she stands in the middle of the boat. 

 

Despite the ocean being her element, she’s never felt so out-of-place—especially with the way the soldiers are all surrounding her, eyeing her every movement.

 

It feels like she’s being taken as a prisoner, and something inside of her twists with uncertainty. 

 

Sure, she’s been visited by boats and soldiers before, but all they’d done is drop off scrolls for her to study and food for her to eat and—

 

It clicks in Jinsol’s mind that maybe she  _ was _ a prisoner.

 

She looks around, staring at all the steely eyes paying attention to her.

 

Ida growls lowly and Jinsol watches as some of the soldiers hands get into earth-bending position. It’s subtle, but Jinsol notices.

 

They’re scared of her—of Ida  _ and _ of her.

 

Wary of her movements, Jinsol sits down, urging silently for Ida to sit, too. The serpent wraps its body protectively around Jinsol’s, her head resting on Jinsol’s lap.

 

The ride to mainland is nearly three hours long, and the whole time, Jinsol feels like she’s under surveillance.

 

She suddenly misses the lonely island she’s spent nineteen years growing up in.

 

-

 

The Earth Kingdom is about as great and massive as the books Jinsol’s read described. 

 

There’s a crowd on the beach where they arrive. 

 

Jinsol’s stomach turns as she gets to her feet.

 

“Keep your eyes on the Avatar,” one of the soldiers says to another, “we need to get her to the King in one piece.”

 

“In one piece?” Jinsol grumbles under her breath, looking towards Ida, who’s still warily watching the soldiers around them, “What do they mean?”

 

As they start descending from the boat, Jinsol realizes what they mean.

 

The crowd beneath is full of rioters, people who don’t like the Avatar, telling her to go back to the island she’d come from—and Jinsol’s confused.

 

“Keep your head down and don’t let them see your face,” the soldier next to her says.

 

Jinsol does as she’s told, covering her face. She doesn’t know these people, and these people don’t know her… so why do they hate her?

 

“What’s going on?” Jinsol says to the nearest soldier next to her.

 

He doesn’t reply.

 

Gritting her teeth, Jinsol tries to ignore the angry shouts as they walk through the crowd. Ida keeps her steady on her feet and they make it through the crowd without  _ too  _ much of a hitch.

 

The ground rumbles as a few of the soldiers create a wall between them and the crowd. Seconds later, more soldiers create an a tunnel down into the earth, revealing  _ more _ tunnels.

 

Jinsol raises an eyebrow, but walks down the slope carefully.

 

“Hey, Avatar, can you give us a light?”

 

“Uh, sure,” Jinsol mumbles, lifting her palm up. A small burst of flame comes out and illuminates the tunnel enough to see a few feet in front of them.

 

“The Earth King has made an emergency trip to see you,” the soldier in front of her, the soldier leading the way, says.

 

“And I don’t suppose you’ll tell me the reason  _ why _ ?” Jinsol tries.

 

A shake of the head, “It is not my place to tell.”

 

Jinsol pouts, “Right.”

 

-

 

Many minutes of walking through dark tunnels later, a large portion of the wall is removed, revealing a large room within. There’s a green hue inside, lights coming from the crystals it’s decorated with.

 

“He’s in here,” the soldier states, walking forward and waving Jinsol inside, “hurry, he’s waiting.”

 

Jinsol enters the room with Ida right beside her, jumping when the ground rumbles and she turns around just in time to see the misplaced rock going right back into its original place.

 

“What the…”

 

“Avatar Jinsol,”

 

Jinsol’s head snaps to the voice and spots an old man sitting on top of a makeshift throne made of rocks and crystals.

 

“Oh—Uh—Your Majesty,” Jinsol stammers out as a greeting, not quite sure how to talk to the man.

 

_ He’s important, right? I mean—he’s  _ **_the King…_ ** _ he’s not  _ **_my_ ** _ King, though…  _

 

“You are probably wondering why you have been called to the mainland after spending years of your life in solitude,” he speaks with a rasp in his voice.

 

Jinsol takes a few steps closer, “Yes, of course I am. I thought I was forbidden from coming here?”

 

“Forbidden for your own safety,” the King clarifies, “someone with your power makes you a target to all kinds of bad people.”

 

“Okay,” Jinsol nods, “so.. why now?”

 

He looks down, as if he’s ashamed of his next words, “We need your help, Avatar.”

 

“ _ My _ help?” Jinsol repeats, “But.. for what?”

 

He closes his eyes and sighs, “You have seen the protestors?”

 

“At the beach? Yes, I have.”

 

“Multiply that anger by many multitudes, and  _ that  _ is the world we are living in currently.”

 

Jinsol frowns, still confused, “What?”

 

“The world’s gone into another dark age, Jinsol,” he opens his eyes, looking up at the girl, “and it’s all because of the one nation who had caused us to undergo the first dark age; the Fire Nation.”

 

“And… what am I supposed to do about that, exactly?” Jinsol asks.

 

“We need your help in defeating the Fire Nation,” 

 

“‘We’ as in the Earth Kingdom?”

 

“And the Air Nomads and the Water Tribes, yes,” the King explains, “all three elements are feeling the backlash of the Fire Nation’s actions.”

 

“What does this…” Jinsol frowns, closing her eyes and trying to process all the information, “the world has been in a war this entire time and I never knew?”

 

“No. Not exactly,” he shakes his head, “we’ve been planning an attack on the Fire Nation for many years now. You were too young to get involved—and we need your power. We’ve been waiting until you’ve grown older—and you have.”

 

A low growl rumbles within Ida’s mouth.

 

The Earth King keeps talking, “Now that you’re older and stronger, we can finally defeat the Fire Nation and rid of them.”

 

“Rid of them?” Jinsol’s eyes open into a glare, “You want to kill the entire nation?”

 

“They want to kill all of the other nations,” he retorts, “we’ve kept you hidden for years for a reason, Jinsol.”

 

“What reason?” Jinsol questions angrily.

 

“So you can go undercover,” he explains, “as part of the Fire Nation.”

 

… 

 

“No,” Jinsol shakes her head, “I won’t be involved in this mass murder of yours.”

 

She turns to walk out of the room, about to earth bend an exit for herself, but pauses when the King’s voice rings out.

 

“Have you ever wondered about your family?”

 

Jinsol closes her eyes, “I was told I never had a family.”

 

“That was a lie.”

 

“What?” Jinsol turns on her heel, “What do you mean that was a lie?”

 

“You had one,” the King says, “ _ had _ .”

 

Jinsol stays quiet.

 

“The Fire Nation killed them.”

 

She had expected those words, but they still stung.

 

“You’re lying to me,” Jinsol shakes her head, “you’re only saying that to get me on your side.”

 

“They raided your entire village, Jinsol,” the Earth King says, “my soldiers were pursuing them when they found you; you were nothing but a small, defenseless baby. And when we learned you were the Avatar, we knew we needed to hide you.”

 

“You’re…” Jinsol says through gritted teeth, “you’re  _ lying _ !”

 

The Earth King stands, and walks towards Jinsol, “If I am lying, you would be able to feel it.”

 

Jinsol’s jaw tightens, eyes narrowing.

 

Ida slithers protectively in front of the Avatar, raising her body high so she towers over the King.

 

Jinsol focuses on the ground, on the vibrations, and on the heartbeat and tremors of the Earth King.

 

“The Fire Nation killed your entire village— _ including _ your parents,” he says.

 

There’s no waver in his voice, no skips in the heartbeats, no shaking of his body.

 

He’s telling the truth.

 

“Ida, down,” Jinsol orders weakly. Ida obeys, albeit stubbornly.

 

The King smiles, “You’ll help?”

 

… 

 

A nod.

 

“I’ll help.”

 

-

 

Jinsol’s schedule goes from spending her days reading scrolls and practicing all types of bending to being filled to the brim with practice sessions and lessons from actual masters of the elements. She’s thrown into spars with people who have been fighting all their lives and quite literally gets  _ destroyed _ . 

 

Everywhere she goes, there’s a group of people that follow her, telling her to do  _ this  _ and to do  _ that _ . She’s never alone, and it’s starting to get on her nerves.

 

She’s battered and bruised after her  _ first day _ —and it’s horrible.

 

She misses the island.

 

She misses being alone.

 

—

 

Jinsol learns a lot within the year of preparing for her mission. She goes from being unable to defend herself in a fight to having to fight  _ multiple _ people at once (because one’s too easy). She talks to masters of the elements and learns the proper techniques of each. 

 

She even manages to connect to the spirit world, manages to connect and unlock the Chis (energy) within herself, allowing her to transition in and out of the Avatar state with complete control of herself.

 

Soon enough, she’s  _ ready _ . 

 

—

 

_ You’re going to pretend to be a nomad named Sol Lee who’s skilled in the ways of firebending. _

 

_ You need to gain the Fire Lord’s trust and then take down her  _ **_and_ ** _ her nation from the inside out. _

 

_ You need to do this for your family. _

 

_ You need to get  _ **_revenge_ ** _. _

 

-

 

Jinsol walks through the Fire Nation’s capital city, taking in her surroundings. 

 

Being in a new environment already makes Jinsol uneasy, but the fact that Ida’s not beside her makes the experience a hundred times more uncomfortable. The serpent would’ve attracted too much attention, so she’s kept hidden in the waters surrounding the Fire Nation islands.

 

And Jinsol’s right-smack-dab in the middle of the nation’s capital.

 

She accidentally bumps into multiple people (and stammers out multiple apologies), but the people pay no mind to her.

 

Jinsol frowns, unsure of what to do.

 

She’d quite literally been dropped off at the city with little-to-no instructions. All she knows is that she needs to get close to the Fire Lord, kill him, and then apparently the other nations will do the rest of the work.

 

But how the  **heck** does she do  **_that_ ** ?

 

Down the street, Jinsol hears some shouting. 

 

_ Maybe that’s how… _

 

Jinsol breaks out into a sprint towards the commotion, eyes widening when she sees the scuffle happening. It’s a whole group of men causing the ruckus. Fire shoots out from their palms, catching onto the buildings surrounding them.

 

While most people are running away from the chaos, Jinsol’s running  _ towards  _ it. She takes in the situation, takes in the environment around her (she’s wary of the school that’s a few buildings down), and frowns.

 

“Hey, meatheads!” she shouts, trying to gather their attention.

 

They don’t notice her.

 

Sneering, Jinsol runs right into the chaos, ducking under a wildly thrown punch and jumping over someone’s leg.

 

She lets two strong bursts of flames come from her palms as she punches towards the sky.

  
  


_ One. _

  
  


_ Two. _

  
  


Everything stops, and the men stare at her, wide-eyed.

 

“There are children  _ right there _ !” Jinsol exclaims, pointing towards the schoolyard where small kids have gathered to watch the fight, “if you’re going to be idiots, go be idiots somewhere where you’re  _ not  _ going to hurt the little ones!”

 

“Mind your own business, little lady,” one of the men practically growls, “we wouldn’t want to hurt you.”

 

Jinsol grins, “I’d like to see you try.”

 

The man narrows his eyes and rushes forward Jinsol, extending his arm in an attempt to grab her by the throat. She swiftly ducks under his arm and punches the middle of his spine.  _ Hard. _

 

He stumbles forward with a groan and turns around, fury in his eyes.

 

“Get her!” he commands.

 

Jinsol side-steps a flame that’s shot at her and bends it so that it spins around her body and boomerangs back to the man who had shot it at her in the first place. 

 

He screams out, screams about his eyes burning.

 

_ One down _ .

 

Feeling the vibrations of someone running towards her from behind, she turns and ducks, swinging her leg out to trip him.

 

He falls face-first to the ground with a groan.

 

_ Two down _ .

 

Jinsol’s hand shoots out and she manages to burn the forearm of another man. He hisses and lets out an angry yell, rushing towards Jinsol. She stands her ground, moving out of the way at the last second, grabbing his arm with one hand and punching his temple with the other.

 

_ Three down _ .

 

She barely manages to dodge another flame shot at her. It whizzes past her ear and makes contact with the school. The children scream and Jinsol turns to make sure that they’re alright.

 

Distracted, she doesn’t see the man barreling towards her.

 

“Pretty lady!” one of the kids shouts, “Look out! Behind you!”

 

“What?” Jinsol turns, and then— 

 

“ _ Oof! _ ”

 

She falls back with the man on top of her, dirt dispersing around them from the impact of their bodies hitting the ground. 

 

Jinsol feels anger fill her as the man grabs her wrists.

 

“Little bitch,” he growls, “you should’ve stayed in your place.”

 

“And you shouldn’t have gone around burning buildings, yet here we are…”

 

Jinsol lets out a huff of air before she lifts her knee and hits him where it  _ really  _ hurts.

 

He shouts out in pain and Jinsol rips her wrists out of his hold, shoving him off of her.

 

She rolls their position, punching him in the throat when he tries to get up.

 

Jinsol gets to her feet, palm outstretched towards the man on the ground, “Don’t. Even. Think about it,” she warns.

 

She looks around, looks at the groaning men on the ground, and then winks at the children who are now cheering for her.

 

_ Four down _ .

 

… 

 

“Just  _ what _ is going on here?!”

 

Jinsol looks over to the voice and sees four Fire Nation soldiers walking down the street.

 

She hurries to fold her hands behind her back and smiles, “These four men were causing a disruption. I simply stopped them.”

 

“It’s true!” a child shouts, “We saw her! We saw her stop the bad men!”

 

The soldier barely regards her, “We’ll take it from here.”

 

“Sure,” Jinsol steps aside, bowing slightly. She rubs the back of her neck, “Hey, wait—”

 

The soldier pulls the injured man from the ground and stares at her, “What?”

 

“Do you know any place for me to get a job?”

 

“No,” he says curtly, and then starts walking away.

 

Jinsol huffs, “Great. Thanks,” she mumbles sarcastically, turning and walking down the street.

 

The children, on the other hand, greet her happily.

 

“Pretty lady! You kicked their  _ butts _ !”

 

Jinsol laughs and nods, “Yeah, I did, huh?”

 

She walks closer to the school, eyeing the wary teacher standing next to the group of kids.

 

Jinsol kneels in front of the fence and smiles as the kids rush forward, all excitedly asking her questions and complimenting her fighting.

 

“What’s your name, Miss?” a small boy asks, eyes wide with curiosity.

 

Jinsol grins, “My name is Sol Lee.”

 

“Where are you from, Sol Lee?” another boy asks.

 

“I’m from all around,” she answers.

 

“Kids, time to get back to class,” the teacher says, still keeping her eyes on Jinsol, “come on. Let’s go.”

 

Jinsol stands, making eye-contact with the teacher. She nods respectfully, giving a small smile, and then turns on her heel.

 

_ Guess she’ll have to find a job now. _

 

-

 

Despite entering many establishments and asking all of them for job openings, Jinsol can’t find a single one.

 

It’s dark outside now, and she walks the streets with a small bubble of disappointment in her stomach. 

 

How exactly is she supposed to get close to the  _ Fire Lord _ when she can’t even get a  _ job _ ?

 

“ _ Dammit _ ,” Jinsol hisses, kicking a pebble down the street. She sighs and lets her shoulders slump, dragging her feet across the ground. 

 

It’s not like she has any money to rent a room to sleep in, either… she’d been dropped off with nothing but the clothes on her back.

 

…

 

Her stomach growls.

 

“Oh, fantastic,” she mutters to herself, looking around and trying to find a nearby food stand.

 

It’s late, but the streets are still semi-lively.

 

It’s then that she notices a familiar face; the teacher from earlier that day.

 

Jinsol hurries forward, “Hey!”

 

She takes hold of the woman’s arm, stopping her.

 

“What the—” the woman says, widening her eyes when she sees Jinsol, “What do you want?”

 

“You remember me, right? From this morning?” Jinsol asks, sheepish smile on her lips.

 

Pulling her arm away, the lady nods, “Yes. I do remember. What about it?”

 

“Well… you see…” Jinsol trails off.

 

“Out with it,” the woman commands.

 

Jinsol clears her throat, “I’m hungry but I don’t have any money.”

 

“So, you’re asking me for money?”

 

“Uh… yes…?”

 

“No,” the woman says shortly before starting to walk away.

 

“W—What?” Jinsol asks, hurrying after her, “Awe, come on!”

 

“No,” the woman repeats, “and stop following me.”

 

Jinsol doesn’t stop following her. They continue down a few streets in silence before Jinsol speaks up again.

 

“Not even as a ‘thank you’ meal?” Jinsol pleads.

 

“I don’t need to thank you,” she says, stopping in front of a building’s front door, “I would’ve stepped in if my students were in harm’s way, but they weren’t.”

 

“ _ You _ ? You would’ve stepped in?” Jinsol questions.

 

“Yes,” the woman says, turning to stare at Jinsol in the eyes, “are you doubting me right now?”

 

“ _ No _ , no, that’s not what I’m—” Jinsol tries to explain herself.

 

“Because if you  _ are _ doubting me,” the woman takes a step forward, clenching her fist, “then I will  _ gladly  _ show you a sneak peek of what I would’ve done to those men if you—”

 

The front door opens and out steps a tall, slender woman with golden eyes and long brown hair.

 

“Haseul,  _ enough _ ,” she commands.

 

The woman, Haseul, turns to look at the other girl, “Sooyoung, she—”

 

“Yes, I’m sure she did,” Sooyoung nods, “you’re tired and grumpy. Go inside and eat, I’ll deal with…” she looks Jinsol up and down, “ _ this _ .”

 

Haseul eyes Jinsol before doing as Sooyoung says, entering the building.

 

Jinsol blinks.

 

_ What just happened? _

 

Sooyoung steps out into the street and sighs, “What did you do to Haseul?”

 

“ _ What did I do to Haseul _ —I didn’t do anything to Haseul,  _ actually, _ ” Jinsol frowns at the accusation, “I stopped a bunch of thugs from burning the buildings near the school Haseul works at, if that’s what you mean.”

 

“And you’ve followed her home because…” the quirk of Sooyoung’s eyebrow makes Jinsol’s frown deepen.

 

“Because I’m new to town and she’s the only person I sort of know… and I’m hungry…?”

 

“New to town?” Sooyoung examines Jinsol’s face, “Yeah, you don’t seem like you’re around here.”

 

“Thanks,” Jinsol deadpans, “look, if you and Haseul aren’t going to help me, do you know someone who  _ will _ ?”

 

Sooyoung smirks. She takes a step back and opens the door behind her, “Come in. Have a bowl of soup. I made enough.”

 

Jinsol sighs, relieved, “Thanks.”

 

“Don’t thank me yet,” Sooyoung says, holding the door open for Jinsol, “Haseul might have my head for this.”

 

“She’s not very welcoming to newcomers, is she?” Jinsol whispers to Sooyoung as she closes the door.

 

“No, not really. She’s—”

 

“— _ right here _ ,” Haseul steps out into the hallway, hands on her hips, “you let her  _ in _ , Sooyoung? Seriously?”

 

Sooyoung crosses her arms, “Haseul, look at her—she’s not gonna cause us harm.”

 

They both look at Jinsol, who gives an awkward smile.

 

Haseul doesn’t seem convinced, “She single-handedly took down four grown men.”

 

“So? You can do the same,” Sooyoung replies, “just give her some food, Haseul.”

 

“Whatever,” Haseul grunts, turning around and heading towards the kitchen.

 

“She hates me,” Jinsol states.

 

Sooyoung nods, “Yeah.”

 

“Great…”

 

-

 

They sit awkwardly as they eat. Jinsol raises an eyebrow as she watches Haseul place a few more vegetables on Sooyoung’s plate. She doesn’t comment on the closeness of their seats, either.

 

“So, stranger,” Sooyoung clears her throat, “what’s your name?”

 

“Sol Lee,” Jinsol replies, “Just Sol is okay.”

 

“Sol,” Sooyoung says, testing the name on her tongue, “what are you doing in town then, Sol?”

 

“Trying to settle,” Jinsol answers, “I figured the best place to do it would be the nation’s capital!”

 

Haseul snorts, “Who lied to you? This place is a shit-storm.”

 

“ _ Haseul _ ,” Sooyoung hisses, “don’t—”

 

“What do you mean?” Jinsol interrupts, “A shit-storm how? I’m not… uh… very caught up with the world, I guess… I’ve been on the road for a while.”

 

“The thugs you stopped earlier today?” Haseul says, “That’s a normal occurrence. And the soldiers either show up late or they don’t show up at all. It doesn’t help that  _ Jungeun  _ isn’t doing much to stop it.”

 

“Haseul, don’t say her name like that,” Sooyoung chides.

 

“Jungeun? Who’s Jungeun?” Jinsol questions.

 

“Jeez, Sol, did you live under a rock?” Sooyoung turns her attention away from her partner and towards the new girl, “Jungeun’s the Fire Lord.”

 

“Oh,” Jinsol mumbles, “is she… old?”

 

“Old?” Haseul lets out a short laugh, “She’s younger than me and Sooyoung—yet she’s out here trying to command an entire nation!”

 

“And how old are you two, if you don’t mind me asking?”

 

“We’re both twenty,” Sooyoung answers, “and Jungeun’s nineteen.”

 

Jinsol’s mouth falls open in shock. 

 

_ The Fire Lord’s… younger than me? _

 

-

 

Laying on the ground of Sooyoung and Haseul’s home, Jinsol’s mind races with a million thoughts.

 

She’d expected the Fire Lord to be some old man with white hair and a long, whisky beard…  _ not  _ a girl who’s  _ younger _ than her. 

 

How’s she supposed to take down someone younger than her? 

 

This… This changes  _ everything _ , doesn’t it?

 

Jinsol shakes her head.

 

_ No, it doesn’t. _

 

She still has a mission. 

 

The world’s counting on her.

 

-

 

“Hey, sleepy-head,” a voice wakes Jinsol up from her slumber, “ _ Yoo-hoo _ …”

 

A groan, “What?”

 

“Wake up, I’m kicking you out,” Sooyoung nudges Jinsol’s butt with her foot.

 

“ _ What _ ?” Jinsol sits up immediately, blinking her eyes repeatedly, “Seriously?”

 

Sooyoung laughs, “If it were up to me, I wouldn’t mind letting you sleep a little longer—but Haseul might make  _ me _ sleep on the ground if she finds out I let you stay here without surveillance.”

 

“Okay, fine,” Jinsol lets out another groan as she stretches, “thanks, Sooyoung.”

 

“Yeah, no problem,” Sooyoung smiles, “take a few pastries for breakfast—Haseul always yells at me for buying too much.”

 

“Thanks, again,” Jinsol mumbles as she walks to the kitchen, “Can I ask why she doesn’t like me at all?”

 

“Beats me,” Sooyoung lets out another chuckle, shrugging her shoulders, “I’ve been dating her for three years and she still confuses me.”

 

Jinsol hums.

 

She saw that coming.

 

“Another question,” Jinsol says, taking three pieces of bread into her arms, “do you know any place I could get a job?”

 

“A job, you say?” Sooyoung replies as Jinsol stuffs her mouth, “You know how to fight, right?”

 

Jinsol nods, chewing.

 

“You want to work for the Fire Lord?”

 

She starts choking.

 

“W—What?” she manages, gasping for breath, “Seriously?”

 

“Don’t pee your pants,” Sooyoung says, “we’re  _ indirectly _ working for the Fire Lord.”

 

“What… What does that even  _ mean _ ?” Jinsol frowns.

 

“It means we go out and do the dirty work that her soldiers can’t legally do!”

 

“Excuse me?”

 

“Listen, do you want money or not?”

 

“Yes, I do,” Jinsol says, “so what’s the job? Besides  _ illegal _ .”

 

A laugh, “We just go through a list of people we need to rough-up and get answers out of.”

 

“Answers?” Jinsol repeats.

 

“The people are suspected of being spies and we need to get them to talk, yadda-yadda-yadda— _ look _ , I’m going to be late so are you in or not?”

 

“I’m in,” Jinsol answers, “I’m  _ definitely  _ in.”

 

-

 

“Is it normally this boring?” Jinsol mumbles under her breath as she watches Sooyoung toss a terrified man onto the alley way’s floor. He scrambles to his feet and runs away from the duo.

 

“Yeah,” Sooyoung says, “but it’s easy money. Most of these men can barely hold themselves in a fight so it’s not that hard to get confessions out of them.”

 

“I can tell—I mean—you barely even touched that guy!”

 

Sooyoung chuckles as she holds up the crumpled piece of paper she’d taken from the man, “And now we’ve got that gang’s  _ whole schedule _ !”

 

She wiggles the paper around, smiling deviously, “C’mon, let’s go deliver this to Jungeun.”

 

“What? You mean right now?” Jinsol gasps, following Sooyoung out the alley way, “Is she not… busy?”

 

“Busy?” Sooyoung snorts, “All she does is order people around and fight poor men who can barely firebend properly.”

 

“And how about you?” Jinsol asks, continuing to talk when she sees the questioning raised eyebrow of Sooyoung’s, “Firebending. Are you good at it? I’ve only seen you threaten to use it… I haven’t seen you  _ actually _ use it.”

 

“Ah,” Sooyoung nods, “I’d say I’m pretty decent at it. Haseul’s better than me. Jungeun’s better than both of us, but  _ that’s  _ a given.”

 

Jinsol furrows her eyebrows, “Are most people on first-name basis with the Fire Lord?”

 

“Oh,  _ no _ ,” Sooyoung laughs, side-stepping a few men as they walk down the street, “Haseul and I both grew up as close friends with Jungeun.”

 

Jinsol can’t believe her luck.

 

Her second day into the mission and she’s already met friends of the Fire Lord that she’s been given the task of eliminating?  _ Jeez _ !

 

“And you three are still friends?”

 

Sooyoung makes a face, “Sort of? It’s complicated. Haseul and her don’t really talk anymore but I keep in touch—I work for her, so…”

 

“Right,” Jinsol nods, “I’m still just… surprised.”

 

“About what? Her being the Fire Lord?”

 

“Yes,” Jinsol says, “she’s so young.”

 

“She acts way older than she actually is, trust me,” Sooyoung replies, “besides, she didn’t have any other choice.”

 

“What do you mean?”

 

Sooyoung sighs, “You really  _ really _ don’t keep up with the news at all, do you?”

 

Jinsol shakes her head, struggling to keep up with Sooyoung’s fast pace.

 

“Both of her parents had been assassinated when they were supposed to head to a meeting at Republic City about a year ago,” Sooyoung explains, “given that she’s their only child, the throne unfortunately became hers.”

 

“She didn’t want to become Fire Lord?”

 

Sooyoung glances towards Jinsol, smiling sadly, “She barely even wanted to be a firebender.”

 

With the way Sooyoung had said that statement, Jinsol feels a sort of finality to her tone—like Sooyoung is telling her to drop the conversation. 

 

Jinsol looks away and they continue to walk through the busy streets.

 

-

 

“And we’re here!”

 

Jinsol doesn’t need Sooyoung to announce their arrival at the palace. She’s been gawking at the place ever since it had been in her vision (and it can be seen from very far away).

 

“Stay where you are!” one of the soldiers from the top of the wall shouts.

 

“It’s just me, Sooyoung!”

 

“Who is the woman with you?”

 

“This is Sol! She’s a good friend of mine!” Sooyoung wraps an arm around Jinsol’s shoulders, shaking her around.

 

“Her Majesty is not looking forward to unwanted guests!”

 

“We aren’t unwanted! Just let us in!” Sooyoung waves her hand dismissively.

 

_ Is it really going to be this easy? _

 

They’re let in, and Jinsol stays close to Sooyoung’s side.

 

“Ease up, new girl,” Sooyoung says with a grin, “Jungeun’s just another one of us.”

 

“She’s the  _ Fire Lord _ , Sooyoung,” Jinsol grumbles, “that’s  _ not _ just another one of us.”

 

“My mother used to change both of our diapers once upon a time,” Sooyoung scoffs, “she’s hardly intimidating.”

 

“Sure,” Jinsol says weakly as they continue towards the large building, unsure of how Sooyoung’s comment is supposed to ease up her nervousness.

 

Once inside, Sooyoung’s greeted by the servants as if she herself was a part of the Royal family.

 

They all ask about Jinsol, eyeing the girl warily, but Sooyoung assures them that she’s trustworthy.

 

Jinsol almost feels  _ guilty _ .

 

“Say, anybody know where Jungeun is?”

 

“Her Majesty is training in the courtyard,” one of the servants says, “she’s in a mood.”

 

“A  _ mood _ , huh...” Sooyoung repeats, looking at Jinsol with amusement in her eyes, “well, let’s go pay her a visit!”

 

-

 

_ It’s definitely  _ **_not_ ** _ going to be easy… _

 

That’s Jinsol’s first thought after seeing the Fire Lord herself fighting off waves and waves of her soldiers. 

 

“She’s… she’s barely breaking a sweat,” Jinsol murmurs to herself.

 

Sooyoung snickers, “These men aren’t very good fighters, either…”

 

Jungeun lets out a crackle of blue lightning from her hands, causing multiple men to fall to the ground, “Seriously? Is that all you got?”

 

Sooyoung decides to step in at this moment, walking towards the open courtyard, “Give them a break, won’t you?”

 

Jungeun instinctively raises a palm towards the direction of Sooyoung’s voice and fires a flame, only for Sooyoung to easily redirect it to the ground.

 

“Watch it, Your Majesty,” Sooyoung cocks up an amused eyebrow. She looks over to Jinsol, who’s still standing by the palace wall, and nods her over, “I got something you might want to see.”

 

“What is it, Sooyoung?” Jungeun growls under her breath, walking closer and not even acknowledging Jinsol’s presence, “I’m busy.”

 

“You’re beating up men who have no chance against you but— _ sure _ , you’re busy,” Sooyoung deadpans, pulling out the paper from her pocket and handing it to Jungeun. Jungeun snatches the paper.

 

The Fire Lord scans the details on the paper.

 

Jinsol takes the moment to examine the girl’s face. There’s almost like a permanent scowl on Jungeun’s face, her forehead creased and eyes sharp. Her hair’s grey, but her eyes are a brilliant gold. 

 

Wait… her eyes—

 

_ Those gold eyes are looking  _ **_directly_ ** _ at Jinsol. _

 

“And who are  _ you _ ?” Jungeun asks monotonously, though there’s still an edge to her words.

 

“I’m Sol Lee,” Jinsol replies, forcing herself to keep her voice steady, “I’m new here.”

 

“She beat up a bunch of hooligans messing around in front of Haseul’s school,” Sooyoung says, “took four of them down by herself.”

 

“You’re a good fighter?”

 

Jinsol looks at Sooyoung for help, but the girl shrugs.

 

“I… I guess I am.”

 

“Then fight me,” Jungeun says, burning the piece of paper in her hands into nothing more than a small pile of ash. Sooyoung looks offended, jaw opening but words not coming out.

 

“What?” Jinsol lets out, surprised.

 

Sooyoung tries to intervene, though her eyes are still on the ash remains of the piece of paper, “Hey, don’t take my newbie away from me—”

 

“Like you said,  _ Sooyoung _ ,” Jungeun addresses her curtly, “these men have no chance against me. Maybe this girl...  _ Sol Lee... _ does.”

 

“I don’t think that’s necessary…” Jinsol laughs awkwardly. 

 

_ It’s too soon to fight her. It’s too soon. _

 

Jungeun starts taking backward steps, “Just for fun.”

 

“Jungeun,  _ stop _ ,” Sooyoung sighs.

 

“I’ll fight you, too,” Jungeun retorts.

 

“Is she serious right now?” Jinsol whispers harshly.

 

“Yes, she is,” Sooyoung shakes her head.

 

Jungeun fires a flame towards Sooyoung, who wasn’t even paying attention to her—and Jinsol knocks the flame off-course with her own shot.

 

Jungeun smirks, “Now we’re talking.”

 

She directs her attention fully towards Jinsol, who feels her heart leap out of her chest.

 

“Wait, what?”

 

Sooyoung laughs and backs away, “Just try not to get  _ too _ beat up.”

 

“ _ What!? _ ” Jinsol yelps, jumping out of the way from another flame.

 

The black haired girl dodges flame after flame after flame, nimble on her feet.

 

Jinsol’s quick, Jungeun’ll give her that, but so is she.

 

It catches Jinsol off-guard when Jungeun produces a fire whip and swings it at her. She gasps and deflects it off of her own just  _ milliseconds  _ before it could hit her.

 

Jungeun raises an eyebrow. She’s sort of impressed.

 

“Where are you from, Sol Lee?” Jungeun asks as the two walk in a circle across from each other. The atmosphere is tense, the two of them waiting for the  _ other _ to make the first move.

 

Jinsol tries to calm her breaths, “Just… around.”

 

Jungeun frowns at the vague answer and rushes forward, letting out multiple flame shots as she does so.

 

Jinsol ducks and rolls out the way, feeling the sharp sting of a burn on the tip of her shoulder. 

 

“Gotcha,” Jungeun says.

 

“Barely,” Jinsol replies, feeling some anger build up inside of her.

 

Seeing the agitation on the stranger’s face, Jungeun becomes even more amused.

 

It’s Jinsol who charges forward this time, weaving through the shots that Jungeun sends her way. Jungeun rolls out the way of Jinsol’s arms and kicks her leg out, hitting Jinsol in the stomach and knocking her back.

 

Jinsol’s dazed only momentarily. She grunts and shakes her head.

 

Jungeun walks forward, “Do you accept defeat?”

 

Jinsol feigns to be in more pain, waiting until Jungeun gets even closer…

 

She swings her feet across Jungeun’s and knocks her to the ground. Jungeun lets out a yelp and tries to raise her palms to get Jinsol off of her but Jinsol grabs both of her wrists and raises them above her head.

 

Gasps ring out throughout the courtyard.

 

_ “Who is this girl?” _

 

_ “Did she… Did she just beat the Fire Lord…?” _

 

_ “Nobody’s ever beat her before…” _

 

And then: all Jungeun sees is  _ red _ .

 

She bucks her hips up violently, pushing Jinsol off of her and flipping their positions. She slips her wrists from Jinsol’s hold. A fireblade flickers from her left palm as her right holds Jinsol down by the neck.

 

They’re both breathing hard and are sweating from their fight, eyes boring into each other’s.

 

“Alright, that’s  _ enough _ ,” Sooyoung says loudly, clapping her hands, “let the girl go before one of you  _ actually  _ gets hurt.”

 

Jungeun lets out a deep breath before she gets up from the ground. 

 

Jinsol sits up, watching as Jungeun walks away. She disappears into the palace.

 

Sooyoung grabs the girl’s hand and lifts her up, “Are you alright?”

 

“I’m fine,” Jinsol says, “does she usually fight every new person she meets?”

 

“She doesn’t normally meet new people,” Sooyoung replies, “hey, if it makes you feel any better, I’ve never seen someone hold so well against her in a fight.”

 

“That…” Jinsol sighs, “that doesn’t really help.”

 

“Sooyoung,” one of the servants calls from inside, “Her Majesty is asking for your friend.”

 

Jinsol’s eyes widen, “What?  _ Me _ ?”

 

Sooyoung pats her on the back, “Okay, yeah, cool. This works! You go deal with Jungeun and I’ll go run the rest of my errands! Meet me back at the house so we can tell Haseul about what happened later tonight!”

 

“Wait, seriously? You’re just going to leave me alone with  _ the Fire Lord _ ?” Jinsol hisses, grabbing onto Sooyoung’s arms, “What happened to me being your newbie?!”

 

“You’ve grown!” Sooyoung exclaims, “Now,  _ go _ —she doesn’t like waiting and I don’t like not getting money. Trust me, you’ll be fine. She’s not as evil as everyone makes her out to be.”

 

“What the fuc— _ Sooyoung _ !” Jinsol shouts as the girl hurries away.

 

The servant clears his throat, “Miss Lee?”

 

“Yeah, yeah, I’m coming,” Jinsol grumbles, wiping away the sweat on her forehead with the back of her hands. She walks behind the servant who leads her down the large hallway and then towards a doorway.

 

Two knocks on the door and a, “Your Majesty, Sol Lee is here.”

 

“Let her in,” 

 

Jinsol blinks repeatedly as the servant opens the door for her.

 

“Uh… thanks,” she mumbles, slipping into the room. She’s surprised to find herself in a large bathroom.

 

Jungeun’s stood in front of the sink, dabbing away at the sweat on her neck and temples with a small towel.

 

“You’re really not from around here, are you, Sol Lee?”

 

“No, I’m not,” Jinsol replies cautiously, “and just Sol is okay.”

 

Jungeun hums, “Where are you from then? And don’t give me a vague answer.”

 

“I’m from a lot of places, really,” Jinsol stands awkwardly, shoulders tense, “I’ve done a lot of travelling in my life.”

 

“Well, maybe you should do a lot more lying—because I can tell that you’re not telling the truth,” Jungeun turns around to face Jinsol, crossing her arms, “so, what’s the deal?”

 

“What?”

 

“Who sent you?”

 

“ _ What _ ?” Jinsol repeats.

 

_ It’s only been two days. She couldn’t have possibly been figured out within  _ **_two days_ ** _. _

 

“It’s not everyday that some stranger with decent fighting skills shows up unannounced,” Jungeun sighs, “Who sent you here to kill me?”

 

“You’re mistaken,” Jinsol shakes her head, “I’m not here to kill you.”

 

“Then why  _ are _ you here?” Jungeun replies immediately.

 

“Because… I have nowhere else to go,” Jinsol says.

 

It’s not technically a lie.

 

“The  _ swamps  _ are a better place to be than the Fire Nation,” Jungeun lets out a humorless laugh.

 

“I’m not a waterbender,” Jinsol shakes her head.

 

“Could’ve fooled me,” Jungeun hops up onto the counter, swinging her legs back and forth. At Jinsol’s confused face, Jungeun continues, “You have blue eyes. Not many—if  _ any _ —firebenders have those. Unless your parents—”

 

“ _ I don’t know my parents _ ,” Jinsol cuts her off.

 

Both of Jungeun’s eyebrows raise, “I see…”

 

Jinsol coughs, “You don’t seem to have much…  _ pride  _ in your nation.”

 

Jungeun’s face darkens the slightest bit, her frown deepening.

 

“Yes, well… there’s not much to be prideful of around here,” her jaw locks and unlocks.

 

“But you are the Fire Lord—”

 

“ _ I have a proposition for you _ ,” Jungeun ignores Jinsol’s statement entirely, cutting her off, “you’re looking for a job right? Otherwise Sooyoung wouldn’t have taken you with her?”

 

“Yes, I am,” Jinsol nods.

 

“I’ll give you a job,” Jungeun says.

 

“What? Seriously?”

 

“Yes,” Jungeun replies, “you’re an actual fighter. I need to train against actual fighters.”

 

“You’re going to pay me… to  _ fight  _ you?”

 

“Yes,”

 

“Just.. just like that?”

 

“Just like that,”

 

“I… Okay,” Jinsol gulps, “ _ I’ll take the job _ .”


	2. Chapter 2

When Jinsol knocks on the door of Sooyoung and Haseul’s home later that night, she’s greeted by Haseul’s frown.

 

“You again…” Haseul sighs, opening the door wider, “Sooyoung told me you’d be back.”

 

Jinsol coughs awkwardly as she walks into their house, “Yeah… she kind of ditched me back at the palace.”

 

Sooyoung pokes her head into the hallway.

 

“But I’m here now,” she grins, stepping into the hall, “how’d it go with the Fire Lord?”

 

“I got a job…?”

 

“Really? That’s great!”

 

Haseul narrows her eyes, “What’s the job?”

 

“It’s… fighting her,” Jinsol says, “she’s paying me to fight her.”

 

Sooyoung lets out a loud laugh, “No way!”

 

“I knew Jungeun was going mad but I didn’t know she was going  _ this _ mad,” Haseul mumbles under her breath as she walks towards the kitchen, leaving Sooyoung and Jinsol alone.

 

Jinsol coughs.

 

“Do Fire Lords normally pay people to fight them?” she asks Sooyoung, who immediately shakes her head.

 

“No, this is the first time I’m hearing about a paid  _ fight-buddy _ ,” she chuckles.

 

“She actually wanted me to stay at the palace tonight but I refused,” Jinsol admits, “I don’t know what’s happening, to be honest.”

 

“She likes you!”

 

“That’s good, right?”

 

“More or less!”

 

Jinsol frowns.

 

_ That’s not very helpful. _

 

-

 

When Jinsol arrives at the palace the next day, she’s immediately let in and escorted to the courtyard where Jungeun’s already beating up poor men.

 

“Sol Lee is here!” one of the servants announces.

 

Instantly, all the men retreat, relief flooding their faces.

 

Jungeun turns towards Jinsol.

 

The Avatar tries to back away, “ _ Woah _ , wait a minute—”

 

Jinsol doesn’t get a minute.

 

She doesn’t even get a  _ second _ , because Jungeun unleashes a barrage of fire balls towards her and she  _ barely  _ manages to dodge in time.

 

The whole fight with Jungeun is filled with a lot of ‘barely dodges’ for Jinsol.

 

_ It’s scary to see someone so small filled with so much rage. _

 

Jinsol decides to stick to the defensive rather than the offensive, letting Jungeun get all of it out of her system.

 

This is easier to do when Jungeun’s throwing ranged attacks.

 

It’s  _ not _ so easy when she’s up-close and personal.

 

“You were late today,” Jungeun grunts as she shoves Jinsol back.

 

“I got lost,” Jinsol replies, dodging a punch and letting out the tiniest burst of flames against Jungeun’s stomach.

 

Jungeun hisses at the slight burn. 

 

Jinsol’s eyes widen, “Sorry, did that hurt—”

 

Jungeun punches her rapidly, one punch for each of her shoulders to knock her back and then one in the middle of her chest. It makes Jinsol breathless and she stumbles back, gasping for air.

 

Jungeun shoots a flame just next to Jinsol’s feet.

 

“ _ Never _ apologize to your opponent,” Jungeun says, taking in short breaths, “No mercy.”

 

“No mercy…” Jinsol repeats, still trying to catch her breath.

 

“It’s the Fire Nation way,” Jungeun says and if Jinsol’s not mistaken, there’s a sense of bitterness in her tone.

 

The flame in her hands dull as she backs off, “That’s enough for today. One of my servants will help you wash up and will show you to your room.”

 

Jinsol stares at her incredulously, “Wait, I actually live here now?”

 

“You work for me, you live with me,” Jungeun replies bluntly before walking away.

 

Jinsol stares at her retreating figure.

 

“ _ What the hell… _ ”

 

—

 

The next few days pass by and Jinsol fights Jungeun nearly two times each day— maybe even three if Jungeun’s  _ really _ in a bad mood.

 

It’s all too much of an odd schedule—mainly because there  _ isn’t _ a set schedule; Jungeun calls for Jinsol whenever ( _ literally _ ,  _ whenever _ ) and then they fight until Jungeun’s satisfied. 

 

Aside from minor burns, bruises, and cuts, the two haven’t done significant damage to each other.

 

(And Jinsol’s not sure if it’s because they  _ can’t  _ or if it’s because they’re both holding back.)

 

Jungeun’s a really _ , really _ good fighter, and Jinsol expected this from the Fire Lord—she just wasn’t expecting the Fire Lord to be smaller than her in both age  _ and _ stature. 

 

Jinsol lays in bed at night on the eighth day and wonders how Ida’s doing. She hopes that her animal companion is doing okay without her and wonders if she’s made any ocean friends.

 

She misses Ida. And she misses the island.

 

Honestly, she misses not knowing about the world’s situation.

 

_ Ignorance is a bliss... _

 

As the Avatar, it’s Jinsol’s duty to help the world—to keep the  _ balance _ and the  _ peace _ —but Jinsol wants nothing more than to explore the ocean with Ida. 

 

_ Some Avatar I am _ , Jinsol thinks to herself bitterly.

 

There’s a rustle outside her bedroom that causes Jinsol to sit up immediately. 

 

The door opens, revealing Jungeun.

 

“I need to fight,” she states, “come.”

 

“Right now?” Jinsol asks, though she gets out of bed, “Shouldn’t you be asleep?”

 

“Don’t tell me what I should be doing,” Jungeun snaps, walking away once she knows that Jinsol’s following her. 

 

Soon enough, they’re in the courtyard. 

 

“Your Majesty, it’s late,” Jinsol says quietly, “why do you want to fight at this very moment?”

 

“Don’t ask me stupid questions, Sol Lee,” Jungeun says, shooting a warning flame towards Jinsol’s body, “I paid you to  _ fight  _ me, not to talk to me.”

 

“Can’t I do both?” Jinsol asks, dodging one of Jungeun’s punches and swiping her own hand to jab beneath the girl’s ribs.

 

“ _ No _ ,” Jungeun gasps out her answer. 

 

She takes a few steps back and keeps a flame in the palm of her hand, lighting up the area.

 

“Why not?” Jinsol prods. Something’s definitely  _ off _ about Jungeun right now.

 

“Because I said so,” Jungeun says forcefully, letting out a small grunt as she shoots a flame out at Jinsol, who doesn’t manage to dodge it in time because she hadn’t been expecting it.

 

It burns her forearm and makes her cry out, but she’s quick to redirect the fire and save herself from any more of the pain. 

 

The flames in Jungeun’s hands burn out as quickly as they had been created.

 

“ _ Shit _ ,” Jungeun whispers, watching Jinsol cradle her left arm with her right, “I didn’t think you’d let it hit you.”

 

“Well,  _ I _ didn’t think  _ you’d _ let it hit  _ me _ ,” Jinsol says through her teeth. 

 

Jungeun takes a small step closer. 

 

(Jinsol resists the urge to take one step back.)

 

“We’re both stupid, then,” Jungeun says under her breath, and then holds out her palm, “let me see it.”

 

Jinsol gives her a skeptical look, but raises her sleeve for Jungeun to see the burn.

 

Jungeun keeps a small flame to use as a torchlight, her other hand touching the uninjured skin on Jinsol’s arm.

 

(Jinsol can’t help but notice that Jungeun’s hands are quite soft despite being used for the harshest element.)

 

“It’s not  _ too  _ bad of a burn,” Jungeun states, but Jinsol knows that it’s actually worse than she let on, “cold water will do you some good.”

 

She’s tugging Jinsol into the palace a second later, bringing her to the same bathroom where they’d had their first proper conversation.

 

Jinsol’s barely registering the situation, but then she feels the cold water against her burn and she’s brought back to reality, hissing at the pain.

 

“I’m sorry,” Jungeun mumbles, “I honestly didn’t mean to burn you this badly.”

 

Jinsol looks up at her, surprised, “What happened to ‘no mercy’?”

 

Jungeun scoffs, shaking her head, “It’s a stupid mindset.”

 

_ A stupid mindset? _

 

Days ago Jungeun had been telling her that it was ‘the Fire Nation way’, but  **now** it’s stupid?

 

… 

 

“Whatever question you’re about to ask—do me a favor and…  _ don’t _ ,” Jungeun reaches under the counter and pulls open one of the drawers, grabbing a roll of bandages.

 

“My lips are sealed,” Jinsol says, pretending to zip and lock her lips with an invisible key.

 

Jungeun pauses, stares at Jinsol for a couple of seconds, and then smiles.

 

It’s a barely-there smile—just a small lift of her lips—but it’s a smile nonetheless. And it’s the first genuine smile that Jinsol’s seen from the younger girl, one that isn’t laced with sarcasm or followed by venomous words.

 

Jinsol’s unable to keep herself from smiling back. 

 

Jungeun’s eyes drop back down to her injured arm and she starts wrapping the burn with the bandages. Even in the darkness, Jinsol can see a hint of color painting Jungeun’s cheeks. 

 

It confuses the Avatar. She didn’t expect the Fire Lord to have…  _ feelings _ — _ emotions _ .

 

(It’d be a lot easier to kill her if she hadn’t smiled at Jinsol the way she just did.)

 

“You’re not what I expected,” Jinsol admits her thoughts out loud.

 

Jungeun sighs, “What did I say about not talking?”

 

“You told me not to ask  _ questions _ . What I said was a statement,” Jinsol reasons, which makes Jungeun look up at her with unamused eyes.

 

Jinsol doesn’t back down, staring right back at Jungeun.

 

“Fine,” the Fire Lord huffs, turning her attention back to Jinsol’s burn, careful hands tending to it, “I’ll humor you. What  _ did  _ you expect from me?”

 

… 

 

“What most people expect from the Fire Lord, I guess,” Jinsol shrugs.

 

Jungeun flicks her wrist, cutting the edge of the bandage with a quick, sharp flame. 

 

She looks up as she ties the bandaging, making eye-contact with Jinsol, “Let me guess: you expected me to be some cold tyrant with little-to-no sympathy for anyone else?”

 

“Pretty much,” Jinsol nods, “also: I was expecting a man old enough to be my grandpa. Long pointy beard and all. Maybe with a little limp… Possibly a cane.”

 

The comment actually manages to pull a small chuckle from Jungeun. She tosses the bandages back into the drawer and shakes her head.

 

“Sorry to disappoint you,” she says.

 

Jinsol almost says that— _ no, she’s not disappointed _ —but that’d be weird to say, so she keeps her mouth shut.

 

… 

 

Jungeun clears her throat, “You can go back to your room.”

 

“Are you sure?” Jinsol asks, “You don’t want to fight some more?”

 

The younger one looks away.

 

“That was an  **order** , Sol Lee— _ not  _ a suggestion,” Jungeun grumbles.

 

“Right,” Jinsol nods, taking note of the girl’s sudden defensiveness and backing off, “Got it. See you tomorrow.”

 

—

 

The next time Jinsol sees Jungeun, it’s not for a fight. 

 

Jungeun actually knocks on Jinsol’s door again, peeking her head in.

 

Jinsol scrambles out of the comfiest bed she’s ever slept in, and stands, “Hi.”

 

“Hi,” Jungeun replies, opening the door wider and walking in, “how’s the…” she trails off, gesturing to her own arm.

 

Jinsol looks down at the bandaged arm. 

 

She doesn’t tell Jungeun that she’d healed it by herself when she got back to her room. She doesn’t tell Jungeun that she’d used her waterbending to heal herself because—well, she’s not supposed to be a waterbender.

 

“Oh, it’s… fine,” Jinsol shrugs, playing it off, “Why do you ask? Do you want to fight?”

 

Jungeun shakes her head, “No. Not today.”

 

“Not today?” Jinsol raises her eyebrows, because Jungeun  _ always _ wants to fight.

 

At the suspicion written all over Jinsol’s face, Jungeun rolls her eyes, “Don’t test me,” she says, exiting the room and closing the door behind her.

 

Had Jungeun really just come into Jinsol’s room to check on her?

 

… 

 

Jinsol’s… not sure what to do.

 

_ Maybe do the  _ **_mission_ ** _ , moron! _

 

“Oh, right,” Jinsol whispers hastily to herself, nodding and fixing her messy bed hair into a high ponytail. 

 

After the events of last night (or early this morning?), Jinsol’s done a lot of thinking. 

 

And by a lot of thinking, she means that she’s come to the realization that she’s conflicted. Completely and utterly conflicted—because the Fire Lord’s not supposed to be  _ horribly beautiful _ and she’s  _ definitely _ not supposed to show even an  _ ounce _ of humanity to Jinsol.

 

Hell, with the way everyone at the Earth Kingdom had been talking about her, you’d think Jungeun would kill a whole pack of baby kittens without even batting an eyelash.

 

But after spending less than a couple of weeks with Jungeun, Jinsol  _ knows  _ that that’s not the case—not in the slightest. If anything, Jungeun might keep the metaphorical pack of baby kittens and  _ raise  _ them.

 

Jungeun, although she makes rash decisions and fights with anger coursing through her veins, is a kind person at heart. Jinsol’s watched the girl help servants around the palace, has watched the girl purposely miss shots on Jinsol that she  _ could’ve _ hit without a problem, and has witnessed the girl’s caring side firsthand last night.

 

She’s not the evil overlord that Jinsol thought she was going to be—and it’s suddenly  _ that _ much harder to even  _ think _ about killing her.

 

So: how exactly is she supposed to carry out this mission?

 

-

 

Seeing as Jungeun’s in a good mood and doesn’t want to fight her anger out, Jinsol’s left to her own devices.

 

She walks around the palace, exploring hallways she hadn’t even known existed before today and peeks her head into rooms she’s not sure she’s supposed to be snooping around in.

 

Eventually, she stumbles upon the throne room. She moves the heavy curtain aside and looks into the dark room that’s barely illuminated by the fires burning at the front. 

 

“What are you doing?”

 

Jinsol gasps, taking a large step backwards and coming face-to-face with the Fire Lord herself.

 

Jungeun has an eyebrow quirked up at her.

 

“I’m… exploring,” Jinsol answers honestly, “what are  _ you _ doing?”

 

“You look stupid with just your head poking into the curtain,” Jungeun ignores the question, “Are you  _ that _ curious about the throne?”

 

Jinsol lets out a weak shrug, feeling her neck warm up at the insult, “I’ve never seen it before.

 

Jungeun grabs at the curtain and pulls it back, waving Jinsol in, “Then go look at it. It’s nothing special.”

 

_ There she goes again. Being dismissive about being Fire Lord. _

 

Jinsol walks in and hears Jungeun following her. The two walk closer and closer to the throne that’s placed high above.

 

“I’ve sat in that seat a total of… one time,” Jungeun states, no emotion to her tone—nothing to let Jinsol depict what she’s really feeling.

 

It irritates her the slightest bit. 

 

How is she supposed to kill the Fire Lord when the Fire Lord doesn’t even want to  **be** the Fire Lord?

 

“Why do you hate it so much?” the question leaves Jinsol’s lips before the rational part of her can stop it.

 

If Jungeun’s surprised, she doesn’t show it.

 

“Depends on what you mean by ‘it’,” she says lowly.

 

“Being the Fire Lord, the Fire Nation— _ everything _ ,” Jinsol replies.

 

Even in the dim lighting, Jinsol can see how Jungeun’s jaw tightens as she clenches her teeth together, watches as the gold eyes reflect orange flames.

 

“I ordered you to fight me, not to—”

 

“Then fight me,” Jinsol frowns, getting irritated at the way Jungeun’s avoiding the topic, “and if I win, you answer my questions.”

 

“And if I win?”

 

“Then I’ll stop talking,” Jinsol says.

 

Jungeun’s eyes darken, “Deal.”

 

She doesn’t waste another moment, immediately sending rapid fire Jinsol’s way. Jinsol sends some of them back Jungeun’s way and dodges the others.

 

It’s almost like a dance, really, the way the two move around each other. Both fluid in their movements, both practically  _ expecting _ each other’s next actions, always trying to be one step ahead of each other but always ending up being totally in sync with one another.

 

And it pisses Jungeun off.

 

She jumps back multiple feet and prepares her next move, not surprised to hear Jinsol gasp once she’s finished it.

 

“Lightning…” Jinsol says under her breath. Jungeun has  _ never _ used lightning on Jinsol before—their fights had been strictly fire.

 

Jungeun watches Jinsol, watches as the girl stares at her, eyebrows knitting together.

 

“Why don’t you want to answer my question?” she asks softly, not threatening or demeaning in any way—and it  _ still  _ manages to make Jungeun’s blood boil.

 

“ _ That _ is a question itself,” Jungeun states, sending a flame towards Jinsol’s head.

 

She ducks just in time and then lunges forward, sending a flame whip towards Jungeun.

 

“You hate being the Fire Lord,” Jinsol says, matter-of-fact, “you didn’t want the job in the first place, did you?”

 

Jungeun grits her teeth, sending another lightning bolt towards Jinsol. 

 

The older girl rolls out of the way and takes a step forward. 

 

“But you were an only child…” Jinsol says, trying to put the pieces together herself since Jungeun isn’t telling her anything. She remembers what Sooyoung told her. 

 

“Shut  _ up _ ,” Jungeun growls, flames building in her palm.

 

“Aren’t I right, though?” 

 

Another step closer.

 

Jungeun backs into the pillar behind her, the fire growing and growing until it’s covering her fist entirely.

 

When she shoots it at Jinsol, the older girl swiftly dodges it and pushes Jungeun further into the pillar, tightly grabbing both of her wrists, using her own body weight to keep Jungeun trapped.

 

“What’s the truth, then?”

 

Jungeun squirms, but Jinsol’s stronger. 

 

After a few seconds of useless struggling, Jungeun’s breathing heavily.

 

She blows strands of hair away from her face, tilting her chin up to look at Jinsol.

 

They stare for a few moments, blue eyes into gold, and Jinsol watches the girl’s neck muscles tighten as she gulps.

 

… 

 

“Well?” Jinsol pushes.

 

… 

 

Jungeun lets out a defeated sigh.

 

“I had a brother,” Jungeun lets out in defeat.

 

“ _ Had _ ?” Jinsol repeats, confused, “What happened to him?”

 

“I killed him,” Jungeun says, almost robotically, “in an Agni Kai that he challenged me to.”

 

“What?” Jinsol lets go of Jungeun’s wrist in surprise, and the girl’s hands fall slack to her sides.

 

“My parents were there. They watched as my little brother tried to kill me. He wanted the throne, and I was in the way of it,” Jungeun lets out a small laugh that’s voice of any genuine humor as Jinsol takes a step back, “I should’ve given it to him…”

 

“He tried to kill you?”

 

“He didn’t succeed, _ obviously _ ,” Jungeun grumbles, “I didn’t want to die. I didn’t think I was going to, either—but he’s always been the evil one between us. My parents… they  _ loved _ him—ate all of that evil, wicked shit of his right up. And I know for a  _ fact  _ that they wanted him to be the next heir—heard them talking about it one night.”

 

_ Jinsol could do it right now. _

 

_ She could kill Jungeun right now, while she’s vulnerable. _

 

Jinsol’s hand twitches, a flame threatening to come out.

 

“But I killed him to save my own life,” Jungeun says, voice barely above a whisper, “and now look where that got me.”

 

_ Do it, Jinsol. _

 

She feels her hand begin to move, towards the girl, but freezes as Jungeun lowers her head.

 

Seconds later, Jinsol senses the water— _ tears _ —flowing down Jungeun’s cheeks.

 

… 

 

She wasn’t expecting that.

 

Jinsol’s hand twitches again, but this time it’s because she wants to wipe Jungeun’s tears away.

 

_ I can kill her another time _ , Jinsol thinks to herself as she steps closer to Jungeun. 

 

After no response from Jungeun, Jinsol carefully wraps her arms around the Fire Lord’s lower waist.

 

Jungeun’s hands stay by her sides, not reciprocating the hug, but not entirely ignoring Jinsol either—she ends up resting her forehead against Jinsol’s shoulder.

 

“You did what you had to,” Jinsol mumbles, feeling the smaller girl’s body start to tremble.

 

At Jinsol’s words, something inside Jungeun snaps.

 

She lets out a choked sob and shakes her head. No words come out of her lips.

 

_ Consoling the Fire Lord after hearing her tragic backstory was  _ **_not_ ** _ part of the plan, _ Jinsol thinks to herself. 

 

But, then again,  _ nothing _ is going according to the plan—at least not the way Jinsol had expected things to go.

 

…

 

Jinsol feels Jungeun’s shift in demeanor before the girl actually lashes out—feels her shoulders tense up and hears the sharp intake of breath before Jungeun violently shoves her away. 

 

… 

 

They stand in a tense silence.

 

Jinsol takes another step away, not wanting Jungeun to feel like she’s trapped.

 

Jungeun wipes away the tears on her face angrily, the scowl on her face coming back in full-force now that she’s gotten the sadness out of her system. 

 

It can’t be healthy to be  _ that _ angry all the time.

 

“This never happened,” Jungeun says almost threateningly through gritted teeth, “now, get out.”

 

“Wait, I’m not going to—”

 

“Get.  _ Out _ .”

 

Jinsol huffs and starts walking towards the curtain. She hears Jungeun scream out in rage, hears fire being tossed around and hears more shouting. Jinsol winces and has half the nerve to turn around and try to stop Jungeun before she accidentally hurts herself.

 

_ So much for her being in a good mood _ .

 

She shakes her head though. She’s not here to babysit the Fire Lord. 

 

She’s here to  _ kill  _ her.

 

-

 

Now that Jungeun’s off fighting herself, Jinsol decides to go visit Sooyoung and Haseul.

 

Unfortunately, Haseul’s the only one home.

 

Jinsol clears her throat, “I can just wait on the sidewalk…”

 

“Don’t be ridiculous,” Haseul rolls her eyes, opening the door, “get in.”

 

“Thanks…” Jinsol says, walking in.

 

“Don’t you have a job now?” Haseul asks, “What are you doing here?”

 

“Jungeun kind of threw a tantrum after telling me about her brother,” Jinsol says, “so… I’m taking a break.”

 

Haseul nods, “Ah.”

 

The two walk to the kitchen together, and Haseul wordlessly fixes up a plate of food for Jinsol, who takes it graciously.

 

They sit together at the table in an unexpectedly comfortable silence. 

 

“Hey, Haseul?” Jinsol calls out.

 

Haseul looks up from her plate.

 

“Jungeun’s not a bad person, is she?”

 

The comment draws a snort from Haseul, quick and humorless.

 

“Why are you asking me that?”

 

“Well,” Jinsol shrugs, “it’s because I don’t think she is.”

 

Haseul stays quiet for a moment. 

 

She moves some vegetables around her plate before she lets out a small breath.

 

“She’s not,” she says finally, “Jungeun’s probably the nicest one out of the three of us—at least,  _ before _ she became the Fire Lord.”

 

“What do you mean?”

 

Haseul gives Jinsol a warning glare, silently telling her not to push it.

 

Jinsol doesn’t back down, “She changed?”

 

“You’re so  _ annoying _ ,” Haseul mutters under her breath, “ _ yes _ , she changed—but that was expected. Her parents died and she was suddenly…  _ forced _ to run a whole nation.”

 

“Is that why you don’t like her anymore? Because she changed?”

 

Narrowed eyes, “Who says I don’t like her anymore?”

 

“I just assumed… I mean—You’re very standoff-ish whenever she’s mentioned,” Jinsol points out, “like she… did something to you, like she hurt you in some way.”

 

“It’s not like that—not really,” Haseul shakes her head, tightening her grip on her chopsticks, “I was just disappointed in her. As we got older, she started becoming what people expected from Fire Lords.”

 

Jinsol stays quiet as Haseul’s eyes soften sadly.

 

“She… she became angry… just—always  _ angry _ . It was always a fight with her, everything we said was a jab at her and it was just so tiring. It’s like she’d wake up and immediately want to fight everyone in her vicinity.”

 

“Yeah, I can tell,” Jinsol mumbles quietly.

 

Haseul steels her glossy eyes, “I stopped talking to her because it hurt for me to see her like that.”

 

“ _ Oh… _ ”

 

A dismissive wave of the hand.

 

“Sooyoung and I got into a big fight about it—she kept telling me I needed to be there for Jungeun and shit but— _ whatever _ ,” Haseul points to Jinsol’s plate, “just—just eat your  _ damn _ food.”

 

And this time, Jinsol listens to her.

 

-

 

It’s late by the time Jinsol gets back. 

 

She’d taken her time getting back to the palace, had walked very slowly, trying to gather her thoughts—trying to figure out what to do next.

 

After Sooyoung had gotten home, the three of them spent the rest of the night listening to Jinsol talk about her life at the palace. Sooyoung didn’t seem that surprised when Jinsol mentioned Jungeun’s outburst earlier that day.

 

(“She was bound to snap one day,” Sooyoung shrugs.)

 

Needless to say, Jinsol feels trapped. She doesn’t think she has it in her to kill Jungeun, not after befriending Sooyoung (and sort of Haseul, too) and  _ definitely  _ not after hearing about Jungeun’s past.

 

The way the Earth King had described the Fire Nation to her, Jinsol thought she’d see villains and crooks on every street corner. Sure, they were there sometimes, but there were also street vendors and old people and young toddlers and—

 

The Fire Nation  _ isn’t  _ evil. In fact, they’re too  _ broken _ to be evil. All the problems the Earth King had blamed them for; the poverty and the economic imbalance and the guerrillas—it couldn’t possibly have been because of such a disorganized nation.

 

Still, she’s the Avatar.

 

It’s up to her to do  _ something _ .

 

… 

 

She just doesn’t know what that  _ something  _ is.

 

-

 

Jinsol enters her room in the palace, almost relieved to be back, and then gasps when she sees a figure sitting on the edge of her bed.

 

“Jung—Your Majesty?” she calls out into the darkness. 

 

She holds out her palm, flickering a small flame alive to give them some light.

 

Jungeun’s hair that’s usually done up in a neat bun is cascading down her shoulders, curling at the ends. It makes her entire aura softer, Jinsol notices. 

 

The Avatar walks closer and starts to notice the girl’s bloodshot eyes and tired demeanor.

 

“What’s wrong?” Jinsol asks. 

 

Jungeun stands up and takes a step forward.

 

“You were right,” Jungeun says.

 

“What?” Jinsol furrows her eyebrows, backing into the wall behind her because Jungeun’s  _ still  _ taking steps forward. She feels her heart skip a beat and feels her face warm up. The flame in her palm starts to dim.

 

“I hate it,” Jungeun mumbles, “being the Fire Lord.”

 

“Yes, well,” Jinsol gulps, “you don’t really try to hide your distaste for it.”

 

… 

 

“No one’s ever called me out for it before,” Jungeun ignores her statement and tilts her head, as if to examine the Avatar, “no one until you.”

 

“No one’s ever hired me to fight them” Jinsol replies, “so I guess we’re even.”

 

She holds her breath as Jungeun edges even closer.

 

_ I can take her out right now while she’s distracted.  _

 

_ She’s too busy staring at my face to know where my hands are. _

 

The fire in Jinsol’s palm grows just the tiniest bit. 

 

_ Wait… she’s staring at my— _

 

The fire flickers.

 

Jungeun frowns. 

 

She raises her own hand and places it on top of Jinsol’s, putting out the fire as she does so.

 

“W—What are you doing?” Jinsol whispers.

 

“I don’t know,” Jungeun shakes her head, tilting her chin up. 

 

Jinsol only registers just how close their faces are when she feels Jungeun’s nose brush against her own. And then she’s suddenly hyper aware of the fact that she can feel Jungeun’s breath against her lips.

 

“Sol Lee,” Jungeun lets out quietly, tightening her hold on Jinsol’s hand.

 

_ This is… not part of the plan. Not at all. _

 

But… a lot of what’s happened to Jinsol the past couple of weeks hadn’t been part of the plan.

 

Her eyes flutter close as Jungeun presses against her, leaving no space between their bodies. The hand that had been holding into Jinsol’s hand slides up and rests on the side of Jinsol’s neck. Jinsol feels dull nails scratching at the junction where her neck and jaw meets, which pulls a low hum out from her.

 

When Jinsol opens her eyes, she’s greeted by the view of Jungeun licking her lips, her gaze focused down on  _ Jinsol’s  _ lips.

 

Jungeun’s eyes flicker back up to Jinsol’s.

 

“Can I?” she asks.

 

Jinsol feels her stomach twist and turn, eyes widening, “Wait,  _ wait _ —”

 

She finally moves her hand, pushing lightly against Jungeun’s shoulders.

 

Jungeun immediately backs off, retracting her hand as if she’d been burnt.

 

“We—We cant,” Jinsol frowns, “I mean…  _ can  _ we?”

 

Jungeun’s face is hard to read, “I don’t see why not.”

 

“Wh…” Jinsol trails off, “Why?”

 

“What?” Jungeun questions.

 

“Why me?”

 

Jungeun contemplates her next words, eyes shifting between Jinsol’s. Jinsol can feel her lean closer. 

 

She finds herself leaning in, too.

 

… 

 

“Who else would it be?”

 

This pulls a sharp gasp from Jinsol’s lips.

 

… 

 

**_Fuck_ ** _ the plans _ .

 

Jinsol pulls Jungeun towards her, her hands gripping the front of Jungeun’s robe. Jungeun’s hand slides back up to Jinsol’s nape, the other one resting on her hip as their lips finally meet.

 

Jinsol can be cheesy and describe their first kiss as passionate and fiery, but it’s not.

 

Jungeun’s advancements, though they are sudden and seemingly bold, are actually uncertain and hesitant. She feigns confidence with an emotionless mask, but Jinsol knows that Jungeun’s as new to this feeling as she is.

 

Jinsol can sense how nervous the younger girl is in the way her breath hitches and the way her fingers grip at her waist like she needs something to keep her steady. She can feel Jungeun’s rapid heartbeat, can feel the slight quiver of her lips against her own.

 

Their kiss is desperate, but it’s a slow and sad desperation. It’s Jungeun clinging onto Jinsol and it’s Jungeun backing away when things get too heated, only to be pulled back in by Jinsol’s comforting and non-judgemental eyes.

 

It’s Jinsol gasping when Jungeun bites down on her lower lip and it’s Jinsol letting out a moan when Jungeun swipes her tongue against her own. 

 

The kisses they exchange speed up before they slow down, a push-and-pull with tempo. Seeing as Jinsol’s still leaning back against the wall, Jungeun can only press so close, and she presses as close as she physically can. 

 

They’re breathing heavy each time their lips separate, only for them to reconnect and continue where they’d last left off.

 

It’s unlike anything Jinsol’s ever felt before—and Jungeun can’t say she’s familiar with the sensation either—yet it’s so  _ intoxicating _ . The feeling of Jungeun’s lips sliding against her own, the nails digging into her skin and Jungeun’s thumb swiping across her hip bone—it’s  _ addicting _ .

 

“ _ S—Sol Lee _ ,” Jungeun gasps as she feels Jinsol’s hands rise, trailing up her waist. She pulls back, rests her forehead against Jinsol’s, and keeps her eyes closed. Her eyebrows knit together tightly as Jinsol’s hands continue to climb up her body.

 

“Your Majesty,” Jinsol whispers back, reaching the bottom of Jungeun’s breasts. Her eyes are open, watching Jungeun’s reaction.

 

“Jungeun,” the Fire Lord says, “just—just call me Jungeun.”

 

“ _ Jungeun _ ,” Jinsol replies, “is this okay?”

 

“Yes,” Jungeun whispers.

 

“We can just keep kissing, if you’d like,” Jinsol offers, skimming past Jungeun’s chest to reach up and cup her cheek. 

 

Jungeun’s eyes open and she stares at Jinsol, surprised to see concern within those blue orbs.

 

“I’m—” Jungeun tries to get out, words falling short as nothing but uneven breaths leave her lips.

 

Jinsol notices the hesitation (it’s hard not to) and finds her heartbeat picking up.

 

“Or maybe we can go to sleep,” Jinsol gives a gentle smile, “you look tired.”

 

“I’m  _ always _ tired,” Jungeun grunts, leaning back in for another kiss. 

 

Jinsol lets her have her way for a few seconds before she leans back.

 

“You’ve exhausted yourself today, Jungeun. Get some rest,” Jinsol pushes Jungeun on the shoulder as she walks to her bed.

 

“Fine,” Jungeun says after a few seconds.

 

Jinsol slips under the covers and expects to hear her bedroom door open and close as Jungeun leaves, but is surprised when Jungeun’s body slides into the spot next to her.

 

“ _ Oh _ —you’re staying  _ here _ ?” Jinsol questions with wide eyes.

 

“My room is too far,” Jungeun states, “like you said, I’m tired.”

 

“I see,” Jinsol murmurs, though she’s giving a small, teasing smile, “I’m sure that’s the case.”

 

Jungeun sneers, “It  _ is _ the case.”

 

“Mhm…” Jinsol hums, closing her eyes as she lays on her back.

 

Jungeun shifts, turning her body on the bed until she finds a comfortable position.

 

She doesn’t find one.

 

Jinsol opens her eyes and looks over at Jungeun, amused, “Are you alright?”

 

“The bed’s too hard,” Jungeun grumbles.

 

The Avatar smiles softly, “This is the softest bed I’ve ever been in.”

 

Jungeun frowns, laying on her back and staring up at the ceiling, “And suddenly I sound like a privileged little brat.”

 

“Hey, that’s not true,” Jinsol says quietly, reaching out to Jungeun, “come here.”

 

“What?” Jungeun blinks as Jinsol grabs her arm and pulls her closer. She’s surprised when Jinsol helps her position her head on her chest, holding the smaller girl in her arms.

 

“Better?” Jinsol asks.

 

Jungeun’s cheeks burn with heat hotter than any fire she’s ever created, “Yeah…” she whispers.

 

With the same smile on her lips and a warm body curled next to hers, Jinsol closes her eyes once more.

 

“Goodnight, Jungeun.”

 

“Night, Sol Lee.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> please leave ur thoughts! 
> 
> twt: @sxftmelody  
> curiouscat: @sxftmelody


	3. Chapter 3

The original plan’s been thrown out the window. 

 

It’s been tossed aside. 

 

_ Trashed _ .

 

Jinsol doesn’t even want to  _ think  _ about it.

 

… 

 

(She has to, though.)

 

In fact, she thinks about it _ all night _ , barely able to catch a wink of sleep—especially not when Jungeun’s so close to her. 

 

She stares up at the dark ceiling and tries not to tense her body to the point where it’d wake Jungeun up. With how Jungeun’s body is pressed against Jinsol’s, she’s sure to feel every little change.

 

Jinsol thinks about the eventful day she’d had; from getting burned by Jungeun to getting  _ cared for _ by Jungeun… from learning about Jungeun’s past from Jungeun herself to learning about Jungeun’s past from  _ Haseul _ … from thinking about killing Jungeun to thinking about kissing and touching Jungeun and…

 

She closes her eyes tightly and tries to ignore the warm body cuddled against her side.

 

_ What the hell am I supposed to  _ **_do_ ** _? _

 

-

 

Jinsol wakes up alone the next morning. Some time during the night she’d manage to doze off and actually fall asleep, but the bed’s empty of Jungeun’s presence when Jinsol opens her eyes.

 

She gets up quickly, hurrying to the dining hall in hopes of finding the Fire Lord. 

 

Her heart beats loudly as she remembers what had happened last night (and beats faster at the thought of what  _ almost _ happened, too).

 

Jinsol walks around the dining hall, slipping and dodging through all the busy workers, “Does anyone know where Her Majesty is?” 

 

One of the chefs pauses, “I think she’s out back with Zo.”

 

“Zo? Who’s Zo?”

 

“Her dragon.”

 

“Her  _ what _ ?”

 

-

 

Jinsol thought  _ Ida _ was big.

 

Well, if Ida’s big, Zo’s  _ colossal _ .

 

The red dragon is a  _ magnificent _ creature that, to be quite honest, frightens the  _ living hell _ out of Jinsol.

 

“How had I not noticed her before?” Jinsol says to herself, blinking to make sure she’s not just dreaming the dragon’s size.

 

“Because I don’t usually keep her on the estate,” Jungeun says, suddenly appearing next to Jinsol and causing the Avatar to jump, “she won’t eat you if you’re next to me.”

 

“ _ Comforting _ ,” Jinsol mutters sarcastically.

 

… 

 

“That was me offering if you’d like to get closer to her,” Jungeun speaks, keeping her eyes trained on the dragon in front of her.

 

“Oh,” Jinsol blinks, and then the realization kicks in, “ _ Oh _ . Wait,  _ seriously _ ?”

 

“Why would I lie?” Jungeun replies, walking towards Zo without even a glance towards Jinsol.

 

Jinsol pinches the back of her hand, giving herself a small reality check, and then she scurries to follow Jungeun.

 

She stays a few steps behind the Fire Lord, too in awe of the dragon to get any closer. Jungeun’s hand reaches out and trails along the dragon’s scales. 

 

They stand quietly for a few moments.

 

“Sometimes I wish I could fly away on Zo and never come back,” Jungeun says out-of-the-blue.

 

The takes Jinsol by surprise, which is the main reason why she doesn’t respond. Her mouth opens, but no words come out.

 

… 

 

At the silence, Jungeun sends a glare over her shoulder, “If you tell anyone I said that, I’ll kill you.”

 

Jinsol nods, holding up her (fake) injured arm, “I’m sure you would.”

 

No response.

 

… 

 

“Sol Lee,” Jungeun says, facing Zo once more so her back’s towards Jinsol.

 

“Yes?”

 

“Last night…” she starts off.

 

Jinsol inhales sharply, holding her breath.

 

… 

 

“You won’t tell anyone, would you?” she turns her head slightly, talking over her shoulder.

 

“I won’t if you won’t,” Jinsol replies. 

 

She catches a hint of a smile on Jungeun’s lips before the girl turns back around and starts climbing onto Zo’s back.

 

Jinsol watches as Jungeun gets settled. 

 

She takes a step back to clear the area for Zo’s liftoff.

 

It doesn’t happen.

 

Jungeun looks at her expectedly.

 

“What?” Jinsol asks.

 

“Let’s go,” Jungeun replies.

 

“ _ What _ ?”

 

“Get up here, Sol Lee” Jungeun says through a small laugh.

 

“Uh… I don’t know about that,” Jinsol murmurs warily.

 

“She won’t hurt you,” Jungeun assures her, “it’ll just be a quick ride.”

 

“...” Jinsol releases a sigh, “Fine.”

 

She climbs onto the dragon’s back, assisted by Jungeun’s hand reaching out to her and pulling her up. Jinsol clings onto Jungeun’s waist from behind as the dragon jumps up.

 

“You aren’t scared of heights, are you?” Jungeun asks.

 

“No,” Jinsol yelps, tightening her grip on Jungeun, “I’m scared of  _ Zo _ .”

 

Jungeun leans forward and pats the dragon repeatedly, “Zo has a kind soul. You don’t need to be afraid of her.”

 

“A kind soul with  _ sharp teeth _ ,” Jinsol retorts, looking down at the land below them as Zo flies higher.

 

Jungeun hums, “She won’t bite unless you give her a reason to.”

 

“Nice to know,” Jinsol grumbles, loosening her grip on Jungeun slightly, “why’d you want to bring me with you?”

 

A sigh leaves Jungeun’s lips, “Do you always have to question my actions?”

 

Jinsol frowns, “I’m just...   _ confused _ .”

 

She feels Jungeun’s shoulders tense up, both of them knowing the weight behind those words. 

 

… 

 

“I’m confused, too,” Jungeun says quietly, “I don’t know  _ why _ I did what I did last night—all I know is that I  _ did  _ it.”

 

“I’ve never kissed anyone before,” Jinsol states.

 

“Me neither,” Jungeun replies, “you’ve been the first person to hug me in years, actually.”

 

Jinsol furrows her eyebrows, “What? Seriously?”

 

“Yes,” Jungeun answers coldly, “my parents didn’t give much affection to their  _ killer child _ .”

 

“Sooyoung and Haseul never…?”

 

“When we were younger, they did,” Jungeun says, “but as I got older, I got busier. I didn’t have time for them anymore. I spent my days training and training so my parents would think I  _ deserved _ the crown.”

 

Jungeun’s tone isn’t angry or forced like it had been yesterday. It’s empty. And, because it’s empty, it’s  _ sad _ .

 

Jinsol feels her heart ache.

 

“Despite all the training, my parents never thought I deserved it. And now they’re dead.”

 

“Jungeun…” Jinsol bites her lip and tightens her grip on Jungeun’s waist, “Do  _ you  _ think you deserve it?”

 

“No,” Jungeun answers immediately, not a single tremble in her voice, “truthfully, I think I deserve  _ better _ . It wasn’t fair for me to be handed a dying nation when I can barely keep  _ myself  _ stable. But, like my dear father always said: life isn’t fair.”

 

Jinsol unconsciously pulls Jungeun’s body closer. 

 

On instinct, Jungeun leans back into her embrace.

 

“Is the Fire Nation really dying?” she mumbles.

 

Jungeun snorts, “It’s never even gotten the chance to get back onto its feet after the war.”

 

“On my travels, I’ve heard that the other nations aren’t doing too well, either,” Jinsol says, choosing her words carefully, “that their economy is plummeting and that crime across the land is at an all-time high.”

 

“I wouldn’t know,” Jungeun shrugs.

 

“What do you mean?” Jinsol questions.

 

Jungeun turns her head to look at Jinsol, whose chin is resting on her shoulder.

 

“The other nations cut all ties with the Fire Nation centuries ago.”

 

Dread fills Jinsol’s stomach.

 

“What?”

 

The Fire Nation isn’t to blame.

 

The Earth King  _ lied  _ to her.

 

-

 

Zo brings them back to the palace and as soon as she flies away, Jungeun shoots at Jinsol with a small flame.

 

Jinsol’s eyes widen, “We’re fighting? Right now?”

 

Jungeun nods with a small smile on her lips, “I’m paying you to fight, remember?”

 

Jinsol rolls her eyes playfully. 

 

The two fight, but there are teasing glints in each other’s eyes and lightness in their attacks. The servants and maids stop and watch the two, surprised to see Jungeun  _ smiling _ . It’s odd for Jinsol, too, to see such a switch in the girl’s personality—but her stomach flutters when she realizes that Jungeun’s like this only around  _ her _ .

 

Their attacks shouldn’t even be considered attacks. They’re not aiming well enough and they’re just sending fireballs back and forth between each other. It’s like a game—a dance, if you will—and they’re both just having fun.

 

And that’s why Jinsol’s so surprised when she hears Jungeun cry out in pain.

 

-

 

“Jungeun, are you okay?” Jinsol asks worriedly as they close the door behind them. 

 

They’ve gone into the bathroom again.

 

Jinsol hurries to the drawers, opening them to get the bandages, “I swear I didn’t even see what hit you—”

 

“I’m fine,” Jungeun smiles, “I just wanted to be alone with you. Everyone was watching us.”

 

“ _ You—! _ ” Jinsol gasps, jaw unhinged in surprise as she turns around, “You faked it!”

 

“Was it believable?” Jungeun still has that sly smirk on her lips as she moves closer towards Jinsol. 

 

She takes the bandages from her hand and tosses it carelessly on the counter that Jinsol’s being pressed against.

 

“Of course it was believable,” Jinsol murmurs with a frown, “I thought I hurt you.”

 

“You did,” Jungeun says before pointing to her lips, “right  _ here _ .”

 

Jinsol almost laughs right in her face, totally taken aback at how the Fire Lord  _ pouts _ .

 

“Seriously?” she raises an eyebrow amusedly.

 

“You’re not going to kiss it better?” Jungeun takes a step back, “Well, I guess I’ll just—”

 

Jinsol grabs onto her arm, pulling her back into her space and shaking her head, “You’re such a dork.”

 

“Is that a good thing?” Jungeun asks, sneaking her arms around Jinsol’s shoulders and loosely interlocking her fingers behind the girl’s neck. Jinsol brings her hands to Jungeun’s waist, holding her close.

 

“It’s a  _ great _ thing,” Jinsol nods, “I like seeing you like this.”

 

Jungeun hums, leaning in, “I like feeling like this.”

 

Their lips linger apart as Jinsol’s eyes flutter close, “Then let’s keep it that way.”

 

The firebender closes their distance. Jinsol meets her halfway.

 

Jinsol’s heart swells when she feels the hint of a smile on Jungeun’s lips as they kiss. It makes her smile, and they have to pull away because their teeth clink and they start to laugh.

 

Jungeun buries her face into Jinsol’s shoulder, body relaxing further into Jinsol’s tight and comforting embrace.

 

“Sol Lee?” she calls out gently as their giggles die down.

 

“Yes?” Jinsol replies, squeezing Jungeun’s body.

 

“I really like this feeling,” she admits in a whisper.

 

Jinsol closes her eyes, letting her cheek rest against the side of Jungeun’s head. She sighs.

 

“Me, too, Jungeun,” she says, “me, too.”

 

-

 

That night, Jinsol sneaks out of the palace and runs to Ida.

 

(She’d left the Fire Nation with little more than a note on her bed addressed to the Fire Lord herself.)

 

Well, she runs to the ocean in order to  _ find _ Ida—but the serpent is there by the time Jinsol’s feet touch the shore and it’s a warm reunion.

 

“Oh, I’ve missed you!” Jinsol exclaims as the creature wraps around her. She hugs Ida tightly and then pulls back with a determined frown, “We need to get to the Earth King. I need to talk to him to get answers.”

 

And they set off on their journey to get to the Earth Kingdom’s capital in order to find the Earth King.

 

It takes a few days, and Jinsol has to stop by some small villages to get food, but she makes sure to be on the move as soon as she can.

 

When she finally does arrive to the capital and she asks to meet the Earth King, she’s laughed at and mocked.

 

“ _ You _ want to meet the Earth King?” the guard chuckles, “Who even  _ are _ you?”

 

Jinsol stands tall, eyes narrowing and jaw locking, “I’m the Avatar.”

 

The guard barely blinks.

 

“ _ Right. _ And I’m a spirit who’s escaped from the spirit world in order to live among the humans!” his sarcastic tone drops with his next words, “Move along, miss.”

 

“I’m serious!” Jinsol says, getting fed-up. 

 

The guard starts to walk away but Jinsol brings up a large tile of ground in front of him, blocking him.

 

He turns around, face angry. 

 

“Where is the Earth King?” Jinsol asks again.

 

“Earth bending won’t get you anywhere but  _ jail _ ,” he starts to head towards Jinsol but she pulls water out from a nearby container and splashes it harmlessly onto the guard.

 

“Take me to the Earth King,” she says.

 

“That’s it—” the guard grumbles, pushing two hand-shaped rocks towards Jinsol. 

 

_ I was  _ **_trying_ ** _ to be nice. _

 

The girl is quick to swipe them to the side with her airbending. She lets out two quick bursts of fire from her palms to keep the guard away from her.

 

“The Earth King,” she grunts, hands held out threateningly, “ _ now _ .”

 

-

 

“Ah, Avatar,” the Earth King greets with a smile as soon as Jinsol enters the room, “what can I do for you? Have you completed the mission?”

 

“No,” Jinsol frowns, “and I don’t think there is a mission left to be completed.”

 

The smile on his face fades, “What do you mean?”

 

“Fire Lord Jungeun isn’t how you described,” Jinsol says, still agitated from the earlier events, “and the Fire Nation is  _ not _ the cause of the world’s problems—they’re barely able to fix their own problems let alone cause the other nations’.”

 

“Their kind brings nothing but destruction to the universe,” he stands from his throne, walking towards Jinsol, “it’s better for us to wipe them out before they wipe  _ us _ out.”

 

“You lied to me,” Jinsol growls, “you told me they were selfish monsters who wanted nothing more than to rule the entire world.”

 

“That’s what they are,”

 

“They aren’t!” Jinsol shouts, “They’re human-beings just like you and I. They’re struggling just as much as every other nation—maybe even  _ more _ than other nations because they’re all on their own! Jungeun told me how it was the Earth Kingdom’s idea to cut communications with the Fire Nation.”

 

“ _ Jungeun _ ,” he repeats, “it seems you’re on first name basis with the Fire Lord?”

 

“That’s not important,” Jinsol replies, “what’s important is that you call off this  _ war _ . I’m not going to kill her.”

 

His face dims, “We had a deal.”

 

“The deal’s off, then,” Jinsol grits her teeth, “I’m not going to kill Jungeun and I’m not going to help in the attack of the Fire Nation.”

 

His eyes flicker off to the side, making eye-contact with one of the guards. He nods, and before Jinsol can even blink, she’s being encased by ground. She tries to earthbend out of the trap, but her arms are stuck to her side and she can’t move her hands. She grunts and tries to squeeze her way out, but the earth tightens around her body.

 

The Earth King’s eyes are dark as he walks towards her.

 

“You may be the Avatar, but you’re  _ weak _ ,” he says, eyes narrowed. 

 

He turns to walk back to the throne. His next words send panic through Jinsol’s veins.

 

“Send her to the prison. And make sure she has no chance of getting out.”

 

—

 

_ Jungeun, _

_ I’ve decided to travel some more. I’ll be back soon. _

_ — Sol Lee _

 

—

 

It’s been twenty-one days since Jinsol’s left— _ three weeks _ —and Jungeun’s worried. 

 

Worried is an understatement, really. She’s genuinely in distress—to the point where her stomach feels queasy and she’s unable to eat full meals. 

 

Her servants ask if everything’s okay, and Jungeun tells them to mind their own business. She’s snappier than she usually is, and it’s obvious to  _ everyone  _ why she’s acting that way.

 

“I’m sure she’s fine, Your Majesty,” one of her maids says to her one night.

 

Jungeun wants to believe her, but she can’t help but feel paranoid. 

 

She gets up from her bed and walks to her closet, grabbing a cloak.

 

“I’m going out,” she says, wrapping the clothing around her shoulders and pulling the hood over her head.

 

“Do you want me to inform guards to escort—”

 

“ _ No _ ,” Jungeun cuts her off, “I’m going alone. And  _ don’t _ follow me if you know what’s good for you.”

 

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

 

-

 

Jungeun knocks on the front door with nervous hands. She tries to calm herself, keeps her expression neutral. She can hear footsteps heading towards the door, can hear a voice go, “ _ I bet it’s Sol Lee! She hasn’t visited us in so long! _ ”

 

Jungeun gulps.

 

The door swings open.

 

“Long time no see— _ wait, you’re not Sol Lee _ ,” Sooyoung blinks, surprised to see Jungeun in front of her.

 

“I need your help,” the Fire Lord says, “can I come in?”

 

“Uh…” Sooyoung looks over her shoulder, and then moves to the side, “sure.”

 

Jungeun enters the house and closes the door behind her, letting her hood down. When she follows Sooyoung into the kitchen, she’s not surprised to see the sneer on Haseul’s face upon noticing her presence.

 

“What are you doing here?” she asks with a bite.

 

“She said she needs our help,” Sooyoung answers, trying to keep the two (mostly Haseul) from attacking the other. 

 

“Help with what?” Haseul questions, crossing her arms.

 

Jungeun looks between the two, “It’s about Sol Lee.”

 

Sooyoung’s eyes widen, “What do you mean?”

 

“She’s missing,” Jungeun says, pulling out the note that Jinsol had left for her and handing it to Sooyoung, “Did she mention going anywhere to you two? Maybe something about where she’d like to settle down in the future?”

 

“No,” Sooyoung shakes her head, reading the note and then handing it to Haseul, “Not at all. In fact, she told us that she wanted to settle _ here _ —at the Fire Nation capital.”

 

Jungeun’s stomach drops in disappointment, the anxiety bubbling up once more, “And she didn’t mention leaving?”

 

“No,” Haseul answers this time. She folds the note back up and gives it to Jungeun.

 

“When was the last time you saw her?” Sooyoung asks, also starting to get worried.

 

“Three weeks ago,” Jungeun states. She fiddles with the paper between her fingers.

 

Haseul sighs, “Are you sure she just hasn’t gotten tired of you?”

 

“Excuse me?” Jungeun frowns.

 

“ _ Haseul _ —” Sooyoung tries.

 

“Maybe she just didn’t like being here,” Haseul says, “ _ maybe _ she just ran away.”

 

“She wouldn’t do that,” Jungeun replies angrily, walking towards Haseul. 

 

The older of the two stands her ground, looking straight back at Jungeun with narrowed eyes.

 

“Would she not?” Haseul raises an eyebrow.

 

“No,” Jungeun hisses, “she  _ wouldn’t _ .”

 

“I wouldn’t be surprised if she did, though. You—”

 

Jungeun lifts her hand, but Sooyoung’s there to grab onto her wrist before her fist can make contact with Haseul’s face.

 

“That’s  _ enough _ —both of you,” Sooyoung says lowly, grip on Jungeun’s wrist tightening before she lets go, pushing Jungeun away from her girlfriend as she does so. She glares at the Fire Lord, “It’s possible that Sol Lee left without planning on returning. If anything, she’s a tough girl. She knows how to fight.”

 

“But—”

 

“You need to leave,” Sooyoung’s words are heavy and hard-hitting, “if all you’re going to do is try to attack my girlfriend then you need to get the hell out of my house.  _ Now _ .”

 

Jungeun’s rendered silent. 

 

She takes a step back, her anger dissipating within thin air. It’s quickly replaced with desperation.

 

“Wait,  _ wait _ ,” she says as Sooyoung walks closer to her. Jungeun grabs onto Sooyoung’s forearm, “Sooyoung,  _ please _ .”

 

Sooyoung’s eyes widen at the tears building up in Jungeun’s eyes. She hadn’t seen Jungeun anything other than  _ angry _ since they were kids. She falters, softening at the pain on Jungeun’s face.

 

“I…” Jungeun stammers, “I  _ need  _ her—Sol Lee—she…”

 

She squeezes Sooyoung’s arm, “ _ Please _ .”

 

“Jungeun, I’m sure she’s fine,” Sooyoung says softly, losing the edge of her tone as she stares at the tear rolling down Jungeun’s cheek, “Sol Lee can handle herself.”

 

“No,” Jungeun chokes out, “she’s…  _ she’s the Avatar _ .”

 

…

 

Haseul steps forward, eyebrows knitted together, “What the hell did you just say?”

 

“I caught her using waterbending to heal her burns a while ago,” Jungeun admits, letting go of Sooyoung’s arm to wipe away her tears, "she's the Avatar."

 

“Are you serious?” Sooyoung asks, mouth open in shock.

 

Haseul crosses her arms again, “That explains why she’s so good at fighting.”

 

“ _ Hello _ ? It explains the  _ blue eyes _ , too!” Sooyoung scoffs, “I can’t believe she’s the Avatar…”

 

Jungeun sniffles, trying to clear her nose, “Can you understand why I’m so worried now?”

 

“Yeah,” Sooyoung nods, “yeah, I can understand…”

 

“So, what? Do you think she got kidnapped?” Haseul asks.

 

“I don’t know,” Jungeun lets out weakly, “I just want to find her.”

 

Sooyoung claps her hands once and then rubs them together, “Where do we start?”

 

“ _ We _ ?” Haseul quirks an eyebrow.

 

“Yes,” Sooyoung confirms, “you care about Sol Lee, too—you’re helping.”

 

“Who said I care about that girl?”

 

“Don’t hide it, babe,” Sooyoung teases, “I know you’ve been making extra food portions just in case she comes by.”

 

“I make extras because I know  _ you  _ eat so damn much—”

 

“ _ Okay _ ,” Jungeun intervenes, “can we focus?”

 

Haseul glares at her.

 

Jungeun puts her hood back on, “I think I know a way to get to Sol Lee.”

 

-

 

When Zo lands on the beach of land Jungeun’s never been to before  _ hours _ later, Sooyoung gasps.

 

“What the  _ hell _ is  _ that _ ?” she asks, staring at the creature that Zo lands in front of.

 

It’s Ida. She slithers up to Zo and lets out a mewl, rubbing her head against Zo’s.

 

Jungeun jumps down from Zo’s back, followed by Sooyoung, and then Haseul.

 

“I… I don’t know what it is, but one day I was on Zo and she brought me to it,” Jungeun explains, “I think it’s Sol Lee’s animal.”

 

Haseul eyes the serpent, “Why do you think that it’s Sol Lee’s?”

 

“Because…” Jungeun starts unconvincingly, “It’s blue…”

 

“Are you kidding me?” Haseul raises both eyebrows at the ridiculousness of the assumption, “You think this snake-thing is Sol Lee’s because it’s  _ blue _ ?”

 

“Well, also because I’ve never seen it before Sol Lee’s arrived!” Jungeun starts speaking faster, trying to prove that she’s not spewing bullshit (even if she feels like she is), “It’s Sol Lee’s.”

 

“Okay,” Sooyoung interrupts, “then  _ where’s Sol Lee _ ?”

 

“First of all,” Haseul grumbles, looking around the dark beach, “where are  _ we _ ?”

 

Jungeun starts trudging up the beach, “Let’s find out.”

 

-

 

They find out pretty soon after that they’re at the Earth Kingdom, because soldiers in green attire spot them and Jungeun blasts them with fire balls before they can even think about calling for help.

 

“Quick, change into their outfits,” Jungeun orders, “we stick out like sore thumbs with all of our red…”

 

Sooyoung huffs, “I  _ hate  _ green.”

 

-

 

The three of them walk down the streets as the sun begins to rise. 

 

Oddly enough, they seem to be the  _ only _ soldiers on the streets. They can’t find any other ones (besides the ones they’d taken out).

 

“Hey! You three!” 

 

The trio turns around, eyes widening when they see another Earth soldier walking towards them, “What are you doing?”

 

“Uhm…” Sooyoung starts off.

 

“The King’s requested more soldiers at the prison,” he says.

 

“Oh, uh—sorry, sir!” Sooyoung smiles, “We didn’t get the memo.”

 

“Clearly,” he grunts, “well, hurry up, then. If the Avatar breaks out, we’re going to need all the help we can get.”

 

Jungeun’s heart jumpstarts at the mention of Jinsol.

 

Sooyoung lets out a chuckle, “Right! And the prison’s  _ this _ way, am I correct?” she points towards a random direction.

 

“No…” he says, staring at Sooyoung with skepticism. The soldier points in the  _ opposite _ direction, “it’s that way.”

 

“Oh, thanks! We’ll get going now,” she grabs hold of Jungeun and Haseul’s arms, dragging them away from the man before his suspicions can rise any higher.

 

When they’re down the street, Sooyoung lets go, “That was close.”

 

Jungeun nods, “Let’s hurry.”

 

-

 

As the three girls near the prison, they realize that getting the Avatar out of there is  _ not _ going to be a walk in the park.

 

There are  _ a lot _ of soldiers. They’re not just posted outside of the prison but also inside; at every corridor and corner of the building. It’s  _ definitely _ secured.

 

Jungeun walks in front of the other two, checking behind her every few seconds to make sure they don’t get split up.

 

The Fire Lord figures Jinsol will be in one of the cells underground, so she descends the first staircase she sees. It’s a large flight of stairs, and when they reach the bottom of it, they’re immediately spoken to.

 

“Are you three here to change shifts with the idiots who got too close to the Avatar?”

 

“Yes,” Haseul answers.

 

“Where are the other ones?” he asks.

 

“On the way,” Sooyoung lies.

 

“Alright. Follow me,” he grumbles, opening up a hidden hallway.

 

The girls follow him, all sharing glances with each other.

 

After a few more minutes of walking, he opens up another hidden door, “In there. She’s tied up and chained  _ and _ gagged now, so you shouldn’t have to worry,” he says.

 

Jungeun digs her nails into her palms. 

 

“Thanks,” Sooyoung mutters.

 

Entering the room, they find Jinsol in the center of it. Her head is hanging low, her arms and legs bound together, her body being kept upright by a boulder behind her. She doesn’t even move when the three walk in, much too exhausted from trying to break out.

 

_ She’s given up _ .

 

Haseul scans her eyes around the area, counting the soldiers and taking note of each one’s position.

 

She nudges Sooyoung, “There’s ten of them.”

 

“We can take them,” Sooyoung cracks her neck.

 

“Wait,” Jungeun whispers, “we need to figure out how to get Sol Lee out first.”

 

“Just— _ pew-pew _ ,” Sooyoung says back, imitating two flame bursts, “the faster we get out of here, the better.”

 

“I know, but—”

 

“Can you three stop whispering to yourselves?” one of the other soldiers grunts.

 

Jungeun narrows her eyes, “Our apologies,” she says loudly, hoping Jinsol can hear her.

 

She does, because her head snaps up and her eyes meet Jungeun’s. Jungeun gives a subtle nod of her head, and then she looks over at Sooyoung.

 

Haseul stands besides Jungeun, mumbling under her breath but loud enough for Jungeun to hear her, “Sooyoung and I can distract. You get Sol Lee.”

 

Jungeun nods.

 

Sooyoung taps her foot on the ground.

 

_ 1…  _

 

_ 2…  _

 

_ 3! _

 

Jungeun rushes towards Jinsol as Haseul and Sooyoung both start their barrage of flames towards the soldiers. She pulls the gag out of Jinsol’s mouth first and then works on unshackling the chains.

 

“Is there a key for this?” Jungeun grumbles.

 

“No,” Jinsol grunts, “they never planned on letting me out.”

 

An idea pops into Jungeun’s mind.

 

She takes a step back and breathes deeply.

 

… 

 

Lightning crackles, and then the chain snaps, allowing Jungeun to unwrap it from around Jinsol’s body. She burns the rope off easily, and as soon as Jinsol’s free, she falls forward.

 

Jungeun catches her, arms wrapping around her waist.

 

“Can you stand?” Jungeun asks worriedly.

 

Sooyoung tackles one of the soldiers heading towards Jungeun, letting out a quick, “Jungeun, we gotta go!”

 

Jinsol takes a moment to close her eyes, “Yeah, I can stand,” she looks up, determined, “let’s go.”

 

Jungeun nods, “Zo and your snake are waiting for us at the beach. We just have to get out of here.”

 

“Ida? You found Ida?” Jinsol gasps.

 

“Yes, but—” Jungeun ducks out of the way from an incoming rock, “We kind of need your earthbending right now.”

 

“Right,” Jinsol replies, looking around and then spotting more soldiers coming into the room via the hidden door. She brings the earth up from the ground around their legs, trapping them, and their arms.

 

“Haseul, Sooyoung, let’s go!” Jungeun calls out amongst the chaos.

 

“Coming!” Sooyoung replies as she kicks one of the guards and then blasts him away with fire.

 

Haseul punches one in the face before running towards the other three. 

 

“Shit,” Jungeun hisses as they hurry into the hall and see a whole group of soldiers coming towards them.

 

“I got this,” Jinsol mumbles, stepping forward and lifting both of her arms. The ground ripples like it’s a wave, causing the guards to roll back and fall. The Avatar creates a ramp for the four of them to walk over, “come on.”

 

Sooyoung raises an impressed eyebrow. 

 

Haseul shoves her from behind, “ _ Walk _ .”

 

“Sorry, sorry. I’m just trying to process the fact that Sol’s  _ the Avatar _ ,” Sooyoung grumbles as the four of them push their way through the hallway and towards the stairs.

 

“I wasn’t supposed to reveal myself,” Jinsol grunts, slamming a few guards into the wall with airbending. The four of them run past them, “I’ll explain everything when we’re out of here.”

 

“Sounds like a plan,” Jungeun grumbles, hurrying towards the staircase.

 

“Uh-oh,” Sooyoung lets out, watching more soldiers hurry down the stairs.

 

Jinsol’s quick to make the stairs disappear into a ramp, causing all the Earth guards to fall and slide down. The girls jump over their bodies and hurry up the stairs.

 

“That was  _ sick _ !” Sooyoung says, patting Jinsol on the back, “Good job!”

 

“Thanks,” Jinsol smiles slightly before they focus once more on getting the hell out of the prison.

 

After successfully reaching the top of the staircase, they’re greeted by even more soldiers. These ones are more heavily armoured. 

 

“They don’t give up, do they?” Sooyoung groans.

 

Haseul sighs and looks over to Jinsol, “Avatar, got any ideas?”

 

“I don’t know,” Jinsol murmurs, looking around quickly as the soldiers hurry towards them. As a last-second resort, she blocks off the hallway and destroys a large chunk of the wall next to them, exposing them to the outside.

 

The four of them run out, ridding of whatever soldiers come towards them with little resistance.

 

“They’re not very well-trained, are they?” Sooyoung quips.

 

“Doesn’t matter if they’re well-trained or not when we’re outnumbered,” Jungeun mutters, shaking her head and then turning to the other three with a frown, “Let’s run.”


	4. Chapter 4

And run they do. 

 

They run all the way back to the beach where Ida and Zo are. 

 

The soldiers back off once they see the large creatures coming to the escapees’ defenses. 

 

Jinsol hastily climbs onto Ida and the other three climb onto Zo. The dragon lets out a roar that shakes the ground before she takes off. Ida follows her, and the group starts to head back to the Fire Nation.

 

Once they’re far above the ocean (and far from the Earth Kingdom), Sooyoung tries to tend to her girlfriend’s injury, but Haseul hisses and slaps Sooyoung’s hand away.

 

“Haseul, you’re  _ hurt _ ,” Sooyoung tries to reason, frowning at the girl’s reaction, “let me help.”

 

Jinsol looks over to the group, and then calls out, “Let’s head down to the water. I can help with her injuries.”

 

“I don’t think Zo would like the water that much,” Jungeun replies.

 

“That small island,” Sooyoung points, “how about we land there?”

 

Jinsol’s eyes widen.

 

That’s  _ her _ island… 

 

“Sure,” Jungeun nods, steering Zo downwards. 

 

Despite the skipping beat of her heart, Jinsol has to follow them.

 

Upon landing, the Avatar slides down Ida and helps Haseul get down from Zo. The teacher scowls, but she accepts the aid because the gash on her leg stings and she doesn’t want to put all of her weight on it. 

 

The two of them walk closer to the water with Jungeun and Sooyoung following. 

 

Jinsol helps Haseul sit down on the sand.

 

“What happened?” she asks as she starts to gather water around her hands, bringing it towards the open wound.

 

“What do you  _ think _ happened?” Haseul grumbles, “One of those fuckers scraped me with a rock.”

 

“Must’ve been a pretty sharp rock,” Jinsol says.

 

Haseul grunts, face contorting into a pained expression as the water around Jinsol’s hands begins to glow.

 

“It’s a deep cut, but you’ll be okay,” Jinsol states, closing her eyes to focus on healing the wound.

 

Jungeun takes the moment to stare at Jinsol’s face, noticing the bags under her eyes and the dirt smeared across her skin. Her black hair is messy and her clothes are torn at some spots, but Jungeun still thinks she’s beautiful.

 

She clenches her jaw and turns her gaze away.

 

Haseul squirms uncomfortably before she feels the sharp pain replaced with a warm, comforting sensation. 

 

Jinsol opens her eyes, removing her hands and letting the water drop down onto the beach, soaking the sand beneath.

 

“There you go,” she says.

 

“Thanks, Sol,” Haseul murmurs.

 

“Jinsol,” the Avatar mumbles, sitting down cross-legged, “my real name’s Jinsol.”

 

Sooyoung lets out a heavy sigh and takes a seat besides Haseul.

 

“Sol Lee isn’t even your real name?”

 

“No,” Jinsol shakes her head.

 

“What else have you been lying about, then?” Jungeun speaks up this time. 

 

Jinsol’s eyes snap up to her to see that she’s still standing, her arms crossed and eyes cold.

 

Jinsol feels her heart sink, “ _ Nothing _ !—I mean, nothing really…?”

 

“How about this,” Sooyoung says, trying to keep things from escalating. Her eyes flicker between the two, “just… start from the beginning, Jinsol.”

 

“I…” Jinsol gulps and then nods, “Okay.”

 

Jungeun stays standing.

 

“My name is Jung Jinsol and I was born as a waterbender,” she starts off, “I was an orphan until Earth soldiers found me. And then when they discovered that I was the Avatar, they kept me isolated on a secret island— _ this _ island, actually…”

 

“What? Seriously?” Sooyoung gasps, looking down at the ground with wide-eyes.

 

“Yeah,” Jinsol hums, ”they wanted to keep me a secret. Until recently, of course. About a year ago I was brought to the mainland to talk to the Earth King. That’s when he gave me a mission.”

 

“A mission?” Haseul repeats, “What mission?”

 

…

 

Jinsol hesitates for a moment. Jungeun’s eyes narrow.

 

“Jinsol? The mission,” Sooyoung says, head tilting slightly.

 

“The… It was the mission to kill the Fire Lord,” Jinsol answers.

 

“Of course,” Jungeun nods, turning on her feet and laughing distastefully.

 

Jinsol’s frowns, “He told me that firebenders killed my parents.”

 

Another laugh, “Of  _ course _ !”

 

Jinsol gets to her feet hastily to try and explain herself, but Sooyoung stands, too. 

 

Something inside of Jinsol’s stomach twists when she sees that Sooyoung’s hands are in position to firebend, as if Jinsol’s going to attack them. As if Jinsol’s the enemy now.

 

This makes Jinsol pause, and her eyes drop to the ground. 

 

She thinks of the first time she’d been brought to the mainland, thinks of the soldiers who were all subtly ready to attack her. She thinks about how they were scared of her.

 

Sooyoung’s scared of her.

 

(Is Jungeun scared of her, too?)

 

Jinsol gulps, “The Earth King lied to me and told me that firebenders were evil… that firebenders do nothing but  _ kill _ . Even on my first day at the Fire Nation, I  _ knew _ that it was a lie. But… I don’t know—it felt like I had a duty as the Avatar to finish the mission. So I—”

 

“So you were going to kill me?” Jungeun turns around, eyes sharp as her hands gesture wildly around, “And then… What were you going to do after that? Kill everyone else in the nation?” 

 

“ _ No _ !” Jinsol answers as her eyes lock onto Jungeun’s, and then backtracks, “No, not—I… That was the plan  _ before _ …”

 

“Before  _ what _ ?” Jungeun snaps.

 

“Before  _ you _ .”

 

Jungeun’s eyes waver, “What?”

 

Jinsol starts tearing up, becoming desperate because she’s spent the last few hours alone  _ sure _ that she was never going to see Jungeun ever again. But Jungeun’s in front of her now, Jungeun  _ saved  _ her—and Jinsol doesn’t want to have to lose her.

 

She takes a small step forward, “After spending so much time with you I… I didn’t want to follow through with the mission anymore. That’s why I went back to the Earth Kingdom in the first place. I thought that the Earth King had been mistaken, that he just didn’t know what you and the other firebenders are like—but he just didn’t care—he  _ doesn’t _ care. He wants to kill you all off—and he wanted  _ me _ to be the start of it all.”

 

“The start…” Haseul tilts her head, “what do you mean by the  _ start _ ?”

 

A sniffle, “After I killed the Fire Lord, the Earth King would send in soldiers to attack the FIre Nation. He’d initiate an all-out war until all of you were dead.”

 

“ _ Son of a bitch! _ ” Sooyoung curses, “What the hell’s wrong with him?!”

 

“I’m sorry,” Jinsol whispers, shaking her head, “I’m sorry—I’m so sorry…”

 

“You didn’t know,” Jungeun says, sighing and rubbing her hands over her face, “you couldn’t have possibly known. They kept you trapped on this island for all your life.”

 

Jinsol’s surprised at how Jungeun’s being so understanding (especially considering her cold demeanor two seconds ago). 

 

The grey-haired girl starts walking towards Zo, “We need to get going. If this is the same island you grew up in, they might figure out that we’re here.”

 

Sooyoung scoffs and just sits back down next to Haseul, wrapping an arm around her girlfriend’s shoulders, “Go talk to her.”

 

“What?” Jinsol asks.

 

“You’re important to her,” Sooyoung states simply, “she was worried sick about you, randomly showed up at our house and begged us to help find you. I hadn’t seen her with so much emotion on her face in years. So, go talk to her. I’ll keep Haseul company.”

 

“R—Right,” Jinsol mumbles, her stomach churning uncomfortably as she hurries to catch up to Jungeun.

 

The hand that Jungeun’s using to pet Zo pauses upon hearing footsteps behind her. Her shoulders tense.

 

“Hey,” Jinsol greets awkwardly.

 

“Hi,” Jungeun replies without turning around, “where are Sooyoung and Haseul?”

 

“Resting,” Jinsol answers, “Jungeun, look—”

 

“Was the kissing part of the plan, too?” Jungeun asks with an edge to her tone, getting straight to the point.

 

“Of course not,” Jinsol frowns, stepping forward.

 

“Then why?” Jungeun says, quieter this time. She turns around just as Jinsol stops in front of her, “Why’d you kiss me? You could’ve just—”

 

“Were you not listening earlier?” Jinsol tries to bring a hand up to Jungeun’s cheek, but Jungeun’s fingers curl around her wrist and push her hand away.

 

Jinsol tries not to let it deter her too much, ignores the pang in her heart.

 

“I kissed you because it felt right,” Jinsol whispers, “and I tried to change the King’s mind about the plan because I care about you—more than I’ve ever cared about anyone ever before.”

 

“You’ve grown up in isolation so that’s not saying much…” Jungeun mumbles under her breath.

 

Surprisingly, Jinsol lets out a laugh.

 

“Okay, that was  _ so _ mean,” she says through her soft chuckles.

 

The noise is enough to pull a small smile from Jungeun. When their eyes lock on for a second too long, Jungeun’s smile drops and Jinsol’s laughs cease.

 

“I just… I don’t know what’s real,” Jungeun admits.

 

“ _ We are _ ,” Jinsol says with urgency, “ _ we’re _ real, Jungeun.”

 

“Are we?”

 

“ _ Yes _ , we are,” Jinsol says, and then she takes a deep breath, “I’m sorry for lying to you. I’m sorry for not telling you the truth earlier. I really thought I could get through to the King… but then...”

 

Silence settles.

 

And then Jungeun sighs.

 

“You’re ridiculously naive,” Jungeun shakes her head, causing Jinsol to take a step back, hurt.

 

But Jungeun reaches out and pulls her closer, fingers wrapping around her waist, “And I love that about you.”

 

“L—Love?” Jinsol squeaks.

 

“I can use the term ‘adore’ if ‘love’s too much,” Jungeun says, confidence faltering.

 

“No, ‘love’ is okay,” Jinsol responds with pink cheeks.

 

“Okay,” Jungeun replies.

 

Jinsol feels happiness spread throughout her body at Jungeun’s gentle eyes, “Are we okay?”

 

“We’re okay,” Jungeun presses her forehead against Jinsol’s, “by the way, I knew you were the Avatar for a while now.”

 

Jinsol’s eyes widen and she moves away, “What?!”

 

A giggle, “I saw you waterbending when you healed your burn.”

 

“You  _ did _ ?!”

 

“I came back to bring you an ice-pack and saw you,” Jungeun admits, “I didn’t know what to think of it, to be honest.”

 

“Wh—” Jinsol’s at a loss for words.

 

Jungeun flickers her eyes away from Jinsol, suddenly shy, “I guess I just wanted to see if you’d ever tell me. If you’d ever trust me enough to tell me… or something—I don’t know. It’s dumb—”

 

Jinsol presses her lips against Jungeun’s, and the tension in the Fire Lord’s shoulders dissipates immediately. 

 

She relaxes, just starting to kiss back when Jinsol pulls away.

 

“It’s not dumb,” Jinsol says quickly, “and I do trust you. And—and I did tell you. I mean, I did  _ now _ , but I guess that’s not really telling you since you already knew—”

 

“Shut up,” Jungeun mumbles, guiding Jinsol’s lips back to her own.

 

-

 

“Told you they were a  _ thing _ ,” Sooyoung whispers, nudging Haseul and nodding her head towards the two girls currently lip-locking.

 

Haseul rolls her eyes, “No, you didn’t.”

 

“I  _ thought _ it,” Sooyoung mumbles, “same difference.”

 

“Not really,” Haseul says.

 

“Babe, just let me have this one.”

 

“Mmm, fine,” Haseul leans closer into Sooyoung’s embrace, angling her head upwards, “stop staring at them, you creep.”

 

Sooyoung smirks and turns her attention to her girlfriend, pressing her lips against Haseul’s shortly.

 

… 

 

When she pulls away, she says:

 

“Do you think they’ll have sex against Zo?”

 

“ _ Ew _ , Sooyoung,” Haseul groans, pushing Sooyoung away only for the taller girl to laugh and pull her closer.

 

—

 

“Uh, hold on—” Jungeun stops Sooyoung and Haseul at the palace gates, “You two are coming in, too?”

 

Haseul takes a deep breath, “Jungeun. We just helped you break Jinsol out of  _ prison _ . Let us in.”

 

Sooyoung grins, “We just want to use your bath. It’s heated, isn’t?”

 

“...  _ Fine _ ,” Jungeun grumbles.

 

Jungeun tells one of the maids to show Sooyoung and Haseul the bathroom as she gives a pointed look towards Jinsol.

 

“Follow me,” she says under her breath.

 

“What? Where are we going?” Jinsol asks.

 

Jungeun doesn’t reply. 

 

Jinsol shouldn’t be surprised when she realizes she’s being led to Jungeun’s bedroom, but she still manages to be. Jungeun lets Jinsol walk in first before she follows and closes the door behind her.

 

… 

 

“Jungeun?” Jinsol calls out gently.

 

Jungeun turns and leans back against the door, her eyes closed, “My people aren’t ready for a war.”

 

“Oh,”

 

To be honest, Jinsol wasn’t expecting to have to talk about war plans right now.

 

“The Earth King can still go through with his plan even if I’m not dead,” Jungeun says, looking up at Jinsol, “he can still wipe out the Fire Nation.”

 

“No,” Jinsol shakes her head, walking forward and encircling her arms around Jungeun’s waist, “he can’t.”

 

“How can you be so sure?” Jungeun frowns, fingers loosely interlocking behind Jinsol’s neck, “You’ve seen my men fight, Jinsol. They—They  _ can’t _ .”

 

“Then  _ train them _ ,” Jinsol urges, “I can help. I’ll help train them and I’ll help you in the war.”

 

“Is this what the Avatar does? Helps the underdog prepare for a war that they’re going to lose?” Jungeun asks quietly.

 

“I don’t know,” Jinsol replies, “but I know that the Avatar doesn’t kill innocent people.”

 

“And you don’t think the people fighting in the war are innocent?” Jungeun responds, “What if they truly believe that firebenders are the bad guys? That we’re  _ actually _ what the Earth King says we are?”

 

“What other way is there?” Jinsol questions, “What do you think I should do?”

 

“I…” Jungeun trails off, “I wish I had a suggestion for you, Jinsol.”

 

...

 

“How about I travel?” Jinsol offers, “I can… I can visit the Water Tribes and the Air Temples and try to convince them not to join the war?”

 

“No—not after what happened the  _ last _ time you travelled,” Jungeun grumbles with a frown.

 

“I can take Haseul and Sooyoung!”

 

“Haseul’s a  _ teacher _ and Sooyoung’s… Sooyoung,” Jungeun shakes her head, “not a chance.”

 

“You just said that the Fire Nation has  _ no chance _ ,” Jinsol points out, “I have to at least  _ try _ .”

 

A sigh, “You’re stubborn, you know that?”

 

“Yes, I know,” Jinsol smiles.

 

… 

 

“Just… be safe, alright?” Jungeun says, “I… I need you.”

 

“I will,” Jinsol kisses Jungeun briefly before pulling back and pecking her on the nose, “ _ you _ focus on training your soldiers and  _ I’ll  _ focus on convincing the world.”

 

Jungeun leans closer and rests her head against Jinsol’s shoulder, closing her eyes.

 

“Sounds good to me.”

 

—

 

On the day they depart, Jinsol knocks on Haseul and Sooyoung’s front door. The door swings open, revealing a grim-looking Haseul with a smiling Sooyoung behind her.

 

Haseul digs a finger into Jinsol’s chest, “If  _ anything _ happens to her—”

 

“You’ll kill me,” Jinsol finishes for her, “I’m well aware.”

 

Haseul narrows her eyes, retracting her hand, “Good.”

 

Sooyoung laughs and hugs her girlfriend from behind, kissing her cheek multiple times, “I’ll be fine! I’m just going to be Jinsol’s emotional support while she talks to a bunch of angry, ignorant rulers!”

 

“Thanks. That makes me feel  _ so much _ better,” Haseul drawls monotonously, rolling her eyes before she turns her head and presses a kiss to Sooyoung’s jaw, “ _ Go _ . The world needs you two.”

 

Sooyoung’s smile widens and she hugs Haseul one last time, letting out a, “Bye! I love you!” before she closes the door.

 

Jinsol shakes her head and smiles as she and Sooyoung walk down the street.

 

“You two are really...  _ something _ ,” she says.

 

Sooyoung hums, “I could say the same about you and,” she lowers her voice, “ _ Jungeun _ .”

 

“ _ Shhh _ !” Jinsol hisses, smacking Sooyoung’s arm.

 

The firebender lets out a laugh and then she smirks, “I called it, by the way.”

 

“ _ Whatever _ .”

 

—

 

Jinsol has to do a lot of various bending to prove that she’s the Avatar, because most people believed that the Avatar had never been rediscovered. 

 

Not after the last one; Kim Jiwoo.

 

“You can speak to previous Avatars, can’t you?” Sooyoung asks one night as they’re laying down beneath one of the Water Tribe’s huts.

 

“Yeah,” Jinsol hums, “why?”

 

“What’re they like? The ones you’ve talked to?” Sooyoung turns to her side.

 

Jinsol smiles at the memory, “Avatar Jiwoo was the last one I’d talk to. It was a while ago, back when I was training for the mission.”

 

Sooyoung’s eyes widened in anticipation, “Oooh! What’d she say?”

 

The Avatar chuckles, “I was trying to ask her how to connect to the Spirits, but she kept going on and on about this beautiful girl she’d met on her journeys; someone named Vivi.”

 

Sooyoung laughs, “Seriously?”

 

Jinsol nods, “Yeah. She was really sweet though. She helped me...  _ eventually _ .”

 

“That’s so cool,” Sooyoung mumbles, “you’re pretty powerful, huh?”

 

“I guess,” Jinsol stares up at the ceiling, “not powerful enough to stop an army full of three nations, though.”

 

“Jeez, no need to be such a downer,” Sooyoung scoffs, “come on, we’ll be fine!”

 

“Whatever you say,” Jinsol mumbles, closing her eyes and trying to fall asleep.

 

-

 

She wakes up, already nervous as soon as she opens her eyes. 

 

Jinsol looks around the hut, widening her eyes when she notices that Sooyoung isn’t in the bed roll next to her.

 

“Sooyoung?” she calls out, getting to her feet and heading to the hut’s opening.

 

She gasps and jumps back when the hut opens and Sooyoung walks in with a large fish in her hands.

 

“Ah, you’re awake,” she says, holding up the fish, “I found us breakfast.”

 

“You  _ found _ us breakfast?” Jinsol questions. She watches as Sooyoung kneels besides the small fire in the middle of the hut.

 

“I stole it,” Sooyoung replies.

 

“ _ Sooyoung _ .”

 

“I’m just kidding,” Sooyoung grins, shaking her head, “I used a little bit of the money Jungeun lended us to pay for it.”

 

Jinsol huffs and sits besides Sooyoung as the girl starts to cook the fish, using her own firebending to speed up the process.

 

Sooyoung lets out a humorless chuckle, “They  _ really _ don’t like firebenders.”

 

Worried, Jinsol looks over at Sooyoung, examining the girl from head-to-toe, “ _ What _ ? What happened? Did they do something to you?”

 

“No, I’m fine,” Sooyoung frowns, “I could just tell from the looks they gave me. They  _ despise _ us, Jinsol.”

 

“They won’t once I’m done talking to the Chief,” Jinsol states firmly, “I promise.”

 

“Very noble of you,” Sooyoung drawls, but there’s a smile on her lips. She bumps her shoulder with Jinsol’s, “I know you’re the Avatar and everything, but this—this whole… getting the world to love firebenders—it might be too much of a long-shot.”

 

“Don’t say that,” Jinsol grumbles, “you can’t say that—we… we haven’t even  _ tried  _ getting the first nation to side with us, how are you  _ already  _ giving up?”

 

“I’m  _ not _ giving up,” Sooyoung unsheathes the knife tucked inside of her boot and cuts the fish in half, “here—you want the head?”

 

“No, thank you—Sooyoung, what—”

 

“All I’m saying is,” Sooyoung sighs, “don’t get your hopes up.”

 

Sooyoung hands Jinsol the tail-end of the fish.

 

“Now, eat.”

 

-

 

  
“The Fire nation can’t possibly have been the cause of your problems. They’re barely able to handle their own problems. The Fire Lord—”

 

“You’ve seen the Fire Lord?”

 

Jinsol steadies herself, tenses her shoulders, “Yes. And she is  _ not _ the tyrant that the Earth King has been telling you are she is. The Earth King knows  _ nothing _ .”

 

Gasps ring around the table as people start to stand, trying to speak up against the Avatar, but the Chief holds up one hand and silences them all.

 

“Let the Avatar speak,” he orders.

 

“Thank you,” Jinsol nods before clearing her throat, “the Fire Lord is  _ younger _ than me—and she’s a kind person who’s been handed a dwindling nation against her will. Her people are suffering, too.”

 

“Firebenders are nothing but thieves,” an older man grumbles off to the side.

 

Jinsol regards him with sharp eyes, anger building within her, “How could you say that? Without knowing  _ anything _ about them?”

 

“What? It’s true—”

 

“ _ No. It’s  _ **_not_ ** ,” Jinsol snaps through gritted teeth, standing from her chair so fast that the seat tips back and slams against the ground, “firebenders are people as much as earthbenders, and airbenders, and  _ waterbenders  _ are. They have families that they care for, friends that they have dinner with. They go to work everyday and their children go to school. They’re doing their best to live with the cards they’ve been dealt with, but being completely cut off and hated by the rest of the world  _ isn’t helping! _ ”

 

… 

 

Jinsol’s outburst stuns the room into tense silence.

 

… 

 

“Then what do you want us to do?” the Chief asks.

 

“What?”

 

The Chief frowns, “What do you want us to do? You’ve come here for a reason, haven’t you?”

 

“I—Yes,” Jinsol says, “I want the Water Tribes to back out of the planned attack on the Fire Nation.”

 

“You can’t be serious…” one of the other voices at the table grunts.

 

“We’ve been planning this attack for years, Avatar,” the Chief says.

 

“And I am aware,” Jinsol replies, “but have you ever even stopped to wonder  _ why _ you were planning the attack? Or did you just go along with whatever the Earth King said about firebenders being the scum of the earth?”

 

The Chief’s jaw tightens.

 

“I can’t blame you,” the Avatar murmurs, softening her tone, “he tricked me, too. After keeping me in isolation for all my life, he suddenly lets me go and persuades me to be his super secret weapon.”

 

“He told me my parents died at the hands of firebenders, and that’s all it took for me to get on his side,” Jinsol explains before shaking her head, clearing her thoughts, “but then I spent  _ one day _ at the Fire Nation and realized that these people weren’t any different than anybody else. They don’t deserve to be wiped from the world just because the Earth King refuses to acknowledge them as nothing more than a scapegoat.”

 

“And how are we to believe her?” 

 

It’s the old man who had made the ‘thieves’ comment earlier.

 

Jinsol’s blood starts boiling again.

 

“Seriously?”

 

“Yes, seriously,” he replies, “you could be a spy for all we know.”

 

“A  _ spy _ ?” Jinsol repeats, in disbelief, “I am  _ not _ a spy. I’m just trying to do the right thing—”

 

“Firebenders are—”

 

“Firebenders are part of the four core elements that keep the world balanced,” Jinsol cuts him off, eyes starting to glow as rage fills her, “as the Avatar, it is my duty to keep peace and balance amongst all—and if that means I have to stop three nations from committing a mass genocide on one nation, then so be it.”

 

“A mass genocide? That’s not—”

 

“Yes, it  _ is _ . And I—”

 

“That’s  _ enough _ ,” the Chief stands, slamming his hands onto the table. Jinsol’s eyes return to normal.

 

…

 

“Leave me and the Avatar alone,” he commands, “ _ now _ .”

 

The rest of the people do what he says at once, walking out silently. Jinsol gulps when she and the Chief are alone.

 

He sighs, closing his eyes and sitting back down, “Sit, Avatar Jinsol.”

 

Jinsol clears her throat, picking up the chair she’d knocked over in her anger and sitting down.

 

… 

 

“I’ve never liked the Earth King,” he says with a small chuckle.

 

Jinsol’s eyes widen, but she stays quiet, watching as the Chief opens his eyes and stares down at the table.

 

“He’s always been so focused on getting rid of the Fire Nation. It was bordering obsession, really,” he says, “it was easier to go along with him than it was rejecting him. Besides, I never thought he’d actually do something. Then, of course, he revealed his plans with  _ you _ last year.”

 

…

 

“I realized then that the Earth King wasn’t just a harmless lazy man who sat on his throne all day—that he could actually cause harm,” the Chief closes his eyes again, “I want to thank you for coming.”

 

“So, does that mean you’re going to back out?” Jinsol’s voice shakes, “Are you going to help the Fire Nation?”

 

“Yes.”

 

Jinsol can’t help the tears that prick at her eyes.

 

She smiles, “Thank you. Thank you so much.”

 

-

 

As soon as the doors open, Sooyoung stands from the place on the ground she’d been sitting on.

 

“Jinsol, is everything alright? I saw a bunch of people leave the room but you weren’t— _ oof! _ ”

 

Jinsol’s body slams into Sooyoung’s, arms wrapping around the taller girl’s waist.

 

“H—Hey,” Sooyoung stammers out awkwardly, “are you alright?”

 

“Yes,” Jinsol whispers, eyes closing tightly, “yes, I’m fine. The Chief agreed to help us.”

 

“That’s great!” Sooyoung smiles, returning the hug.

 

“I know,” Jinsol mumbles, moving back, “sorry, I’m just so relieved—”

 

“Oh, get back here, loser,” Sooyoung pulls her back into her arms, “you deserve a hug.”

 

Jinsol sniffles, forehead resting against Sooyoung’s shoulders.

 

“One down, two to go,” Sooyoung mumbles.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> oh by the way the title is NOT from the weeknd's song, it's from 'things we lost in the fire' by bastille


	5. Chapter 5

Haseul’s wary when she hears the knocking on the front door. With Sooyoung and Jinsol travelling the world, she doesn’t expect anybody else to be visiting her home.

 

She opens the door just enough to see who’s outside before opening it wider upon seeing who it is.

 

“Jungeun?” she calls out, confused.

 

The grey-haired girl stands awkwardly in front of her, though her chin is held high, “Hi, Haseul.”

 

“Hi...” Haseul blinks, “and you’re visiting me because…?”

 

Jungeun pulls a face, as if she herself has no idea why she’s there, making her frown deepen, “I just... wanted to check up on you.”

 

Haseul raises an eyebrow, “Because I  _ need _ someone to check up on me?”

 

“No, that’s not what I meant,” Jungeun says immediately upon hearing the attitude in Haseul’s tone.

 

“Right,” Haseul scoffs, “well, as you can see, I’m perfectly fine. Thanks for coming by to visit, but—”

 

Jungeun sticks her feet through the doorway as Haseul moves to shut it, “ _ Wait _ .”

 

Haseul, surprised, opens the door again, “What?”

 

“Can we talk?”

 

“About what? Don’t you have a whole army to train?”

 

“Haseul,” Jungeun says quietly, pleading.

 

With a defeated sigh, Haseul rolls her eyes and lets go of the door. 

 

She walks down the hall, leaving Jungeun at the doorway.

 

Jungeun stares, frozen at the unexpected turn of events. She thought Haseul would put a  _ lot  _ more fight into that.

 

…

 

“Hurry up and close the door. You’re gonna let mosquitos in.”

 

-

 

“What’s so important that you paid me a visit in the middle of the night?” Haseul questions, leaning back against the counter as she crosses her arms.

 

“I wanted to thank you properly,” Jungeun says, hands interlocked behind her back, “for helping me get Sol— _ Jinsol _ —back.”

 

“Yes, well,” Haseul lets out a deep breath, “Sooyoung kind of  _ forced  _ me along.”

 

“I know,” Jungeun replies, “and I know you hate me, so it means a lot that you helped, even if it was just for Sooyoung and Jinsol.”

 

“I don’t hate you, Jungeun,” Haseul frowns, “I’m just not very fond of you… not anymore.”

 

Jungeun nods slowly, letting the words sink in.

 

Haseul groans and closes her eyes, “Jungeun, I don’t hate you.”

 

Jungeun blinks as Haseul pinches the bridge of her nose, “You said that already.”

 

“But I know you don’t believe me,” Haseul says, opening her eyes and staring at Jungeun, “I stopped talking to you because I saw the path you were going down.”

 

“What do you mean?”

 

“You know what I mean,” Haseul grumbles, “you were becoming your father.”

 

Jungeun’s eyes harden at the blunt statement.

 

“I know—I  _ know _ you don’t want to hear those words after all that’s happened, but it’s true—it  _ was _ true,” Haseul says, voice steady as Jungeun’s eyebrows knit together, “when I saw you getting angry and yelling at everyone all the time, I didn’t want to be around for the inevitable demise you’d face. I didn’t want to be around when you’d eventually meet the same fate as your father.”

 

“I see,” Jungeun mumbles. She knows Haseul’s right.

 

Haseul hums, “Then I saw you crying over Jinsol and I realized maybe you  _ haven’t  _ become a full-on cold-hearted bitch..”

 

Warmth creeps up Jungeun’s neck at the reminder of her moment of vulnerability. 

 

She urges herself to calm down because now is  _ not _ the time to be blushing.

 

“This is going to sound weird but,” Haseul starts, “seeing you cry… it reminded me of the Jungeun I knew as a kid. The one that I…”

 

She trails off awkwardly. 

 

Heavy tension fills the room.

 

“You don’t have to say it,” Jungeun smiles sadly, “you don’t have to.”

 

Haseul nods understandingly, chest tightening at the memories of their past. 

 

Jungeun clears her throat.

 

“I know that I’ve changed, and I can’t go back to the way I was when I was eleven, but… thank you nonetheless. I couldn’t have gotten Jinsol back without your help.”

 

“You would’ve found a way,” Haseul shakes her head, “besides, we saved the fucking  _ Avatar _ .”

 

“Yeah,” Jungeun grins, nodding and looking down at the ground, “Yeah, we did.”

 

…

 

“Jungeun.”

 

“Yeah?”

 

“I don’t hate you.”

 

Jungeun looks up, into Haseul’s eyes. 

 

There’s only the slightest warmth in them, but it’s enough for Jungeun’s heart to skip a beat.

 

She nods.

 

“I know you don’t.”

 

—

 

“Wait, what?” Sooyoung widens her eyes as Jinsol walks with her down the halls of an Air Temple, “They said yes?”

 

Jinsol nods, just as surprised as Sooyoung is, but she’s smiling, “They never even wanted to get involved in the Earth King’s plans in the first place, so it wasn’t that hard persuading them not to.”

 

“That’s incredible,” Sooyoung laughs, shaking her head, “we just have to go to the Earth Kingdom and then that means we can go home, right?”

 

“Yes,” Jinsol nods without even thinking about it.

 

Her mind backtracks.

 

_ Wait…  _ **_Home_ ** _? Home as in…? _

 

“Let’s go then,” Sooyoung grins, clapping Jinsol on the back and pulling her from her thoughts, “we have two very special ladies waiting for us!”

 

-

 

When the two arrive at the Earth Kingdom, however, it’s…

 

Empty.

 

Soldier-wise, that is.

 

Jinsol’s eyes are worried as she and Sooyoung walk down the streets. 

 

“What the hell…” Sooyoung mumbles.

 

Jinsol nods, “I know…”

 

She stops a man who’s walking past her.

 

“Hey, where is everyone?” she asks.

 

The man frowns, “No one knows. The King just up-and-left with the whole army a couple days ago.”

 

“A couple days ago?” Sooyoung repeats.

 

The two girls share a look with each other.

 

“Oh no,” Jinsol murmurs.

 

“They…”

 

“We need to get back to the Fire Nation,” Jinsol says, already hurrying down the streets to get back to Ida, “ _ now _ .”

 

-

 

“Shit,” Sooyoung whispers under her breath as they near the Fire Nation. 

 

There are boats scattered around the island that the Fire Nation stands on, not to mention the large ships flying in the air. Though most of them have Earth Kingdom symbols on them, it’s hard to miss the blue flags on Water Tribe ships.

 

Although Jinsol’s glad that the Water Tribes kept their word, she’s more worried about the damage being done to the Fire Nation. 

 

“They must’ve found out about our plan,” Sooyoung says. Jinsol’s stomach churns.

 

“Ida, down! Hurry!” Jinsol calls out.

 

“We’re fighting back,” Sooyoung whispers, staring down at the chaos. \

 

Whole buildings are on fire and some have crumbled to the ground. There’s fighting going on at the beach, Earth soldiers keeping the waterbenders away from land.

 

“Sooyoung, I’m going to drop you off at the palace,” Jinsol says as Ida flies low over the nation, “I need to go back up on Ida.”

 

“What? By yourself?” Sooyoung asks, “Don’t be stupid, Jinsol, I can help you—”

 

“It’s too dangerous,” Jinsol huffs, “besides, they need all the help they can get on the ground. I’ll be fine.”

 

Sooyoung sighs, “Fine. But you better be careful.”

 

“I will,” Jinsol murmurs, nearing the ground, “find Haseul and Jungeun. Make sure they’re safe.”

 

“Right,” Sooyoung replies, “when everything blows over, I’ll find you.”

 

“Okay,” Jinsol says as Ida lands. 

 

Sooyoung squeezes Jinsol’s waist before sliding down Ida and landing on the ground.

 

“See you around, Avatar,” she salutes playfully.

 

Jinsol smiles despite the nervousness in her stomach, shaking her head as Ida takes off again. 

 

Her main focus is the largest airship, and as Ida flies closer and closer towards it, Jinsol takes in just how  _ large _ the ship is.

 

“Ida, stay clear of danger, okay?” Jinsol says, patting the serpent on the back three times before jumping down and onto the airship.

 

Ida flies off and Jinsol steadies herself. 

 

She takes a deep breath before fire-blasting her way into the ship.

 

-

 

Sooyoung’s not surprised to see Haseul at the school where she works. 

 

She’s also not surprised at all of the injured Earth soldiers lined up along the road.

 

“You’re safe,” Sooyoung smiles, relieved as she rushes forward and takes her girlfriend into her arms.

 

“I can handle myself,” Haseul says, seeking the warmth of her lover’s embrace.

 

After a moment, they pull away. 

 

It’s then that Haseul looks around, eyebrows furrowed, “Wait, where’s Jinsol?”

 

Sooyoung smirks at the concern on her girlfriend’s face, “I  _ knew _ you cared about her.”

 

“Forget I asked,” Haseul grunts, “you need to find Jungeun.”

 

The smirk on Sooyoung’s face drops, playfulness replaced by worry, “What do you mean?”

 

“When I heard about the soldiers arriving, the first thing I did was go to check on Jungeun. One of her maids told me she’d gone out to the front lines at dawn that day. I wanted to go look for her, but the school...”

 

“I’ll go,” Sooyoung nods once, “you’ll be okay?”

 

“I’ll be fine,” Haseul frowns, “just  _ go _ .”

 

“Okay,” Sooyoung sneaks a quick kiss to Haseul’s lips and then she’s running down the street, towards the main gates of the Fire Nation.

 

-

 

It’s not hard to find Jungeun, not when she’s literally a firebending  _ war-machine _ . 

 

(And also because Zo’s flying right above Jungeun, making sure her human doesn’t get overwhelmed as she breathes large flames down upon the Earth soldiers.)

 

Sooyoung ducks and dodges all the flames and the rocks, eventually reaching the Fire Lord herself.

 

Haseul had been right. She’s right at the front of the battle.

 

“Jungeun!” Sooyoung calls out, yelping when Jungeun’s first instinct is to fire a fire whip at her.

 

“Sooyoung!” Jungeun gasps, “Where’s Jinsol?”

 

Sooyoung points upwards, towards the ships, and Jungeun blinks.

 

“She sent me down here for reinforcements,” Sooyoung says, “let’s kick some Earth Nation ass.”

 

Jungeun tears her gaze away from the airships and nods, tightening her jaw and focusing herself.

 

“Right.”

 

-

 

Jinsol jumps out of the ship just as it starts exploding, airbending her way down so she doesn’t plummet to her death. 

 

The ship collides with the one next to it, and it causes a domino-effect of explosions.

 

Jinsol closes her eyes and tries to drown out the blasts, eventually feeling the ground beneath her feet. 

 

She lands on the beach, on the side of the Water Tribes who are still trying to push forward.

 

As the waterbenders recognize her, they let out a loud cheer and a surge of energy powers through the group. 

 

They push the Earth soldiers back with the help of JInsol.

 

Running up to the walls of the Fire Nation, she realizes that they basically have the Earth Kingdom sandwiched; with the Fire Nation in front of them and the Water Tribes behind them.

 

Jinsol shoves aside Earth Soldiers and literally blows them away with strong gusts of wind—not enough to truly hurt them but enough to gather their attention. 

 

A panic spreads through the soldiers when they turn around and spot the Avatar. 

 

Their focus shifts from trying to get deeper into the Fire Nation to trying to take down Jinsol (and the waterbenders behind her).

 

Jinsol rises up and blocks every rock and boulder thrown at her. 

 

She creates a wall between the waterbenders and the earthbenders, not letting anyone else get hurt.

 

Eventually, the firing ceases. None of them can even get a scrape onto the girl, and she’s entrapped them. 

 

“That’s  _ enough _ !” she calls out as loud as she can, “The Earth Kingdom’s on its own. The Air Nomads and the Water Tribes have agreed to help the Fire Nation rebuild itself.”

 

“Lies!” One soldier cries.

 

“It’s the truth,” Jinsol shakes her head, “your leader has been feeding you lies about the Fire Nation. They are not criminals. They are not the reason behind all of your troubles. They are people, just as you are.”

 

“The King would never lie to us!”

 

“And where is your King right now?” Jinsol asks angrily, “Where is your King while you are all out risking your lives for him? Is he sitting in his throne, safe underneath  _ layers  _ of the Earth like the coward that he is?”

 

Murmurs pass through the army in front of her.

 

“The King is a liar,” Jinsol says, “and this fight stops  **now** .”

 

The crowd’s murmuring gets louder and Jinsol worries as she sees them start to push against each other, becoming rowdy.

 

“What are you fighting for?!” Jinsol shouts, causing everyone to freeze.

 

She keeps talking. 

 

“The Fire Nation’s just defending itself, but for what reason are you attacking them?” 

 

Silence.

 

“Please, go back to your land,” Jinsol says, pushing down with both hands and lowering the makeshift wall she’d created, “and let these people rebuild their nation.”

 

At first, no one moves.

 

And then a few soldiers start start walking, passing underneath Jinsol and walking to their beach where their ships are. The waterbenders part like a sea, allowing the soldiers to walk past them.

 

One by one, hundreds by hundreds, the Earth Kingdom soldiers retreat.

 

Jinsol watches from above, still floating in a sphere of air.

 

“Jinsol!” a voice shouts from below.

 

Without even looking at the face of the voice’s owner, Jinsol already knows.

 

“Jungeun,” she whispers, hurrying down to the ground. 

 

Her arms are outstretched and the Fire Lord, face dirtied with ash, dirt and blood, runs into her embrace. People around them gasp, probably surprised to see that the Fire Lord and the Avatar are on such good terms, but they move back to give the two girls space.

 

“You’re okay,” Jinsol mumbles, tightening her arms around Jungeun’s body as people pass by them. 

 

“I’m fine,” Jungeun says, face buried in Jinsol’s shoulder.

 

Jinsol smiles, leaning back to look at Jungeun properly. 

 

She reaches up to wipe away the blood and muck on Jungeun’s face, not surprised to see the tears running down her cheeks.

 

“Don’t cry, Jungeun,” Jinsol frowns, “we did it.”

 

“We did it,” Jungeun repeats with a nod, “we did it, Jinsol.”

 

Jinsol, in trying to wipe away ash on Jungeun’s cheek, ends up just smearing it further across her skin with the pad of her thumb. 

 

She hums and decides that she’ll just have to clean Jungeun up back at the palace.

 

Back at  **_home_ ** .

 

-

 

After making sure the Earth Kingdom soldiers have all departed and helping around the Fire Nation to put out fires and tidy the streets, Avatar Jinsol walks up to the front gates of the palace. She’s immediately let in.

 

“Her Majesty is waiting in her room for you,” one of the maids tells Jinsol.

 

Jinsol smiles and thanks the woman before hurrying up the stairs. 

 

When she knocks on Jungeun’s door and hears the soft ‘come in’, Jinsol feels her heart skip a beat. 

 

She opens the door and closes it behind her, spotting Jungeun sitting on the edge of her bed, looking down at the palms of her hands.

 

“Jungeun?” Jinsol calls out gently, “Are you alright?”

 

She sits next to Jungeun, who just smiles and tightens her hands into fists, “I’m fine.”

 

Jungeun looks up and over to her lover. 

 

Jinsol frowns when she sees all the scratches and bruises that are now visible now that all the muck on her face has all been wiped away.

 

She cups Jungeun’s cheek, examining the wounds.

 

“They don’t hurt,” Jungeun says, leaning into the touch, “I’m fine.”

 

Jinsol hums, though she’s still frowning, and then leans in to kiss the girl. Jungeun kisses back gently, lets her lips linger against Jinsol’s for a few seconds before she pulls away.

 

“Jinsol…” she whispers shakily.

 

“Yes?” Jinsol questions, thumb carressing Jungeun’s cheek.

 

The gulp that Jungeun takes causes the muscles in her neck to strain. Jinsol’s eyes outline the vein she can see slightly protruding there, wonders how fast her pulse is going (and if it’s anywhere close to as fast as her own is going).

 

“I… I love you,” Jungeun admits.

 

Jinsol feels her stomach flip multiple times, her eyes snapping back up to meet Jungeun’s. Those golden eyes are glossy but are filled with a flame more powerful than Jinsol can ever create.

 

“I love you, too, Jungeun,” Jinsol replies, pulling the Fire Lord into her arms, “I love you.  _ So much _ .”

 

Jungeun’s body relaxes against Jinsol’s as she begins to cry. 

 

Jinsol holds her, whispering words of assurance and comfort.

 

Jungeun feels safe. 

 

She  **is** safe. 

 

“I’ve missed you,” Jungeun admits through her tears, holding tightly onto Jinsol, “the whole time you’ve been gone, I was worried something had happened.”

 

“Nothing happened, Jungeun,” Jinsol assures, “I’m here with you now.”

 

“I know,” Jungeun breathes deeply. 

 

She closes her eyes and allows Jinsol to pull them both into a laying position. She tosses the covers over their bodies and pulls Jungeun close.

 

“I think we deserve to take a rest,” the Avatar mumbles quietly.

 

Jungeun curls her body up and presses close to Jinsol.

 

“I agree.”

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


 

 

 

—

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


 

 

 

 

There’s a knock on the door.

 

No answer.

 

Another knock. This time, more aggressive.

 

Haseul hurriedly comes around the corner and into the hall, cursing under her breath, “ _ We’re coming! _ We’re coming!” she calls out, and then murmurs, “ _ For fuck’s sake… _ ”

 

Swinging open the door, Haseul scowls, “Did you have to be so  _ obnoxious  _ with the knocking?”

 

Jinsol grins, “You weren’t answering when Jungeun knocked, so I took it upon myself to—”

 

“ _ Yeah _ , whatever—Sooyoung’s still cooking stuff in the kitchen,” Haseul starts walking away and Jungeun and Jinsol both send each other amused looks.

 

Upon walking into the kitchen, Jinsol greets Sooyoung and the tall firebender breaks out into a wide smile.

 

“Well, if it isn’t the Avatar and her girlfriend the Fire Lord!” she says excitedly, “I’m just about finished with cooking this meat. You two can get settled.”

 

Jungeun smiles and feels Jinsol tug on the hand that she’s holding, pulling her over to the dining table.

  
  
  


It’s been a few months since the battle with the Earth Kingdom, and Jungeun’s pleasantly surprised with how smooth things are going. Jinsol’s gone on a few trips around the world to speak to the different nations, but for the most part she stays with Jungeun at the Fire Nation. 

 

Jungeun’s taken to her title as the Fire Lord, deciding that she should be the type of leader she believes would be good for her people—ignoring what the past Fire Lords were like and doing what  _ she  _ believes is right. 

 

(Jinsol’s never been more proud of her, really.)

 

Haseul passes them plates and utensils as Sooyoung carefully carries over the tray of freshly cooked meat. She places it in the middle of the table and smiles proudly.

 

“Looks great, doesn’t it?” Sooyoung asks.

 

“It does,” Jungeun nods.

 

As Haseul and Sooyoung settle into their own seats across from Jinsol and Jungeun, the Fire Lord takes a quick glance around. 

 

She never would’ve imagined that she’d be going to regular dinners with Sooyoung and Haseul, let alone with the Avatar sitting next to her, as her  _ girlfriend _ .

 

Then again, she never would’ve imagined that she’d live to see the day that the Fire Nation would start prospering once more.

 

But here she is.

 

“Let’s dig in!” Sooyoung exclaims.

 

Jungeun watches as Jinsol picks around the meat and grabs some pieces with her chopsticks, only to place it on Jungeun’s plate first.

 

“Here,” she says with a smile.

 

Jungeun’s heart flutters (as it always does when Jinsol’s around) and she mutters a quiet, “Thanks.”

 

Their dinner is full of conversation, with the majority of the talking going to Sooyoung and Jinsol. Haseul and Jungeun opt to watch their partners with adoring eyes, and when they make eye-contact with  _ each other _ , their smiles grow the tiniest bit.

 

As Sooyoung starts ranting on and on about some man who’d refused to stop flirting with her, Jungeun feels a hand on her thigh.

 

When she looks down, she sees Jinsol’s hand, now facing palm-up, resting there.

 

Sooyoung’s still talking as Jungeun reaches down and intertwines their fingers together.

 

Everyone’s all-smiles by the time Sooyoung’s story is finished, and it’s for more reasons than one. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> tada!!!! this was a really fun story to write and writing it made me real happy but alas, all good things must come to an end.
> 
> please please please do leave some feedback! i love hearing your thoughts on my stories :D <3

**Author's Note:**

> the entire fic will be about 5/6 chapters and will have a little over 20k words. 
> 
> i had a lot of fun writing this so i hope you all have a lot of fun reading it!
> 
> please do leave kudos/comments! i really want to hear your thoughts :D
> 
> twt: @sxftmelody  
> curiouscat: @sxftmelody


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